By Delayna Earley
The Island News
Polls open in the Lowcountry for the primary races for the 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday, June 11.
There are five candidates, including the incumbent, who are currently campaigning to become the Republican and Democratic nominees for the seat.
The Island News sent out a questionnaire to each of the five candidates and asked them to fill it out so that readers can be informed about the candidates before heading out to the polls on Tuesday.
The questionnaires are listed in the order that they were received, and the responses have not been altered in anyway.
Editor’s Note: Questionnaires were sent to all five candidates, but as of Thursday, June 6, a completed questionnaire has not been received from Bill Young.
The story will be updated if a completed questionnaire is received from this candidate.
A questionnaire was received from Catherine Templeton on Monday, June 10, and the story was updated accordingly.
Michael B. Moore
Full Name: Michael Boulware Moore
Birthdate: June 12, 1962
Office You Currently Hold: I’m a first-time citizen candidate.
Office You Are Running For: I’m running to represent the working families of South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Hometown: My family fled racial segregation in South Carolina in the 1950s, and I was born and raised in the Greater Boston area.
Current Residence: My family and I live in Mount Pleasant.
College(s) You Attended: After graduating from Syracuse University, I earned an MBA from Duke University and received an honorary Doctorate in Public History from Dickinson College.
Professional Experience: I’m a forward-thinking business executive with nearly four decades of private sector experience. I’ve held leadership roles at Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurial ventures, and nonprofit organizations. But most rewardingly, I served as the founding president and CEO of the International African American Museum, which opened its doors in Charleston last June.
Current Profession: I’m a full-time candidate working to defeat Nancy Mace, flip SC-01, and restore Democrats’ House majority.
Political Party: I’m a proud Democrat.
What are the three most important issues that you hope to address if elected?: My top priority is safeguarding reproductive freedom. I believe a woman’s health care decisions belong between her and her doctor. Period. I want to get government out of folks’ lives and restore rights to South Carolinians — not take them away. In Congress, I’ll fight to enshrine reproductive freedom, defend women’s rights, and protect access to IVF.
I also believe that quality, affordable health care is a right, not a privilege. Too many families are burdened by extraordinary out-of-pocket costs, copays, and health insurance premiums. Most Americans are an injury or illness away from a medical and financial crisis. I support strengthening the Affordable Care Act, expanding Medicaid, taking on Big Pharma, and lowering prescription drug costs.
Next, we need to create more good jobs with good benefits, so folks here in SC-01 can pay their bills and take care of their families. For too long, our neighbors have struggled with rising prices and the cost of living in the Lowcountry, while the wealthiest earners fail to pay their fair share. I believe in economic policy that uplifts working families, invests in local businesses, and holds big corporations accountable.
Finally, we must take decisive action to protect our coastal communities from the climate crisis. Lowcountry residents know better than most that the threat posed by climate change is real. For SC-01, government inaction is no longer an option. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to embrace proactive climate policy, keeping our planet healthy and habitable for generations to come.
What makes you stand apart from the other candidates?: I’m an experienced business and community leader with a proven record of balancing budgets, bridging divides, and bringing home results for SC-01. I’m also the only candidate in this race who has delivered real, big-time investment to the Lowcountry. At the International African American Museum, I cultivated donors, forged alliances, and finished a project that had been in the works for more than two decades. When all was said and done, I helped raise more than $125 million for the historic site.
In both business and politics, my values are informed by my family’s legacy of service to the Lowcountry. I come from a long line of pioneering public servants and civil rights leaders — most notably my great-great-grandfather, Civil War hero and Reconstruction-era Congressman Robert Smalls. In 1862, Smalls commandeered a Confederate ship in Charleston harbor, carrying his family and 15 other enslaved people to freedom. Smalls went on to become one of the first African Americans to serve in Congress, and I’m now seeking the same House seat held by my great-great-grandfather almost 150 years ago.
Mac Deford
Full Name: Mac Deford
Birthdate: March 11, 1989
Office you currently hold: None
Office you are running for: SC Congressional District 1
Hometown: Voorhees, NJ
Current residence: Mount Pleasant, SC
College(s) you attended: The Citadel (BA), Charleston School of Law (JD), and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (MBA – June 2024)
Professional Experience: I enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard after high school, serving as a federal law enforcement officer and search & rescue crewman. During my service in the Lowcountry, I protected our maritime borders, ports, and waterways. Leveraging the GI Bill, I attended The Citadel and the Charleston School of Law after my honorable service to our nation.
My legal career began as an in-house attorney for Blackbaud in Charleston, SC. I then became the number two attorney for the Town of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina’s fourth-largest municipality, before being hired as the General Counsel for the Town of Hilton Head Island. In these roles, I addressed diverse issues, including environmental protection legislation, beach renourishment projects, attainable housing, public safety, and infrastructure development.
My combined experience in the U.S. Coast Guard and as a top legal advisor for local governments has significantly contributed to the safety and vitality of the Lowcountry.
Current Profession: Attorney
Political Party: Democratic Party
What are the three most important issues that you hope to address if elected?: Protecting women’s rights, ensuring gun safety reform, and improving infrastructure are my top priorities.
My maternal grandmother tragically lost her life in 1960 due to a backroom abortion. This devastating loss sent my mother, who was only 5 1/2 years old at the time, into a broken foster care system. Since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, many states, including South Carolina, have regressed to that era. In Congress, I will be a staunch advocate for women’s rights.
Gun violence is a grave threat, and those who remain passive while it becomes the leading cause of death among children should not hold public office. As a lawful gun owner and supporter of the Second Amendment, I believe that universal background checks, safe storage standards, closing the Charleston Loophole, and implementing red flag laws will not infringe on the rights of law-abiding citizens. Congress needs to take action, and I am running to ensure it does.
We must get serious about our infrastructure. From attainable housing to protecting our region from severe weather events such as hurricanes, we need to invest in transit and flood mitigation infrastructure now to ensure a sustainable environment. Nancy Mace has voted against critical infrastructure bills, despite later claiming credit for the resulting benefits to the Lowcountry. This is not the leadership we need from our elected officials.
What makes you stand apart from the other candidates?: I represent the new generation of leadership of our nation, and I have led a life of public service. My opponent has served corporations, while I have served our country and communities. I’ve protected our waterways, addressed critical issues like attainable housing, and have worked to implement flood mitigation infrastructure in our district.
Congress is chock full of businessmen who are solely out for their own interests. We need genuine public servants in Congress, not phony politicians who will continue to squander away the future of America. Since my service in the Coast Guard to now, I have consistently been there for the Lowcountry and our nation, and my record clearly shows that I put public service above personal interest.
We need leaders who will bring the country together, not continue to tear her apart. In my time in local government, I have worked in a bipartisan manner to influence positive change for our communities. My record has resonated with folks across political divides, as evidenced by the broad, bipartisan support we’ve received from Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. We are the only campaign who can defeat Nancy Mace in the general election come November.
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace
Full Name: Nancy Ruth Mace
Birthdate: December 4, 1977
Office you currently hold: U.S. House Representative for the 1st Congressional District of South Carolina.
Office you are running for: U.S. House Representative for the 1st Congressional District of South Carolina.
Hometown: Goose Creek, South Carolina.
Current Residence: Daniel Island, South Carolina.
College(s) you attended: The Citadel (Business Administration), The University of Georgia (Master’s degree).
Professional Experience: My professional background is in technology, PR, and marketing. I also worked in commercial real estate before coming to Congress. I served in the South Carolina State House before entering Congress.
Current Profession: U.S. House Representative for the 1st Congressional District of South Carolina.
Political Party: Republican
What are the three most important issues that you hope to address if elected?: The top concerns we hear about today are about border security, inflation, and infrastructure. I work extremely hard for the Lowcountry to address these issues. I am endorsed by Donald Trump who trusts me, over my opponents, to continue to work hard for the Lowcountry.
As a graduate of The Citadel, I know the importance of national security, and have been consistent in my votes, legislation and policies to keep illegal aliens out of the Lowcountry. Contrary to all the lies being told by my opponent, I have very strong track record sponsoring, co-sponsoring or voting for over 60 pieces of legislation to secure the border and stem the tide of illegal immigration. I have introduced my own legislation including the Northern Triangle
Asylum Cooperative Agreement Reimplementation Act, and the Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act; the latter recently passed out of the Judiciary committee with Jim Jordan. I voted for over 900 miles of wall also.
Lowcountry families can’t afford today’s inflation, yet Congress keeps adding to our $35 trillion debt and passing massive trillion dollar spending bills. I have never voted to raise your taxes and am a fiscal conservative, advocating for responsible spending and a balanced budget by authoring the Penny Plan. I also recently helped save 1,000 Lowcountry jobs for a defense contractor.
To address Beaufort County’s infrastructure needs specifically, we have worked to secure authorizations for projects in the Water Resources and Development Act, think stormwater and flooding projects alike. I helped obtain over $20 million in grant money for the Hilton Head Island Airport Expansion project. In fact, when our local governments are looking for grant support, I turn letters of support around in 24 hours. I also helped Beaufort win a $1.3 million grant to stand up the South Coast Cybersecurity Hub. I could go on and on with local accomplishments and infrastructure projects I have worked on, and you can read specifically the projects in Beaufort County at Nancymace.org/Beaufort/.
What makes you stand apart from the other candidates?: In 2020 I showed I was capable of winning this seat back for Republicans in a swing district by putting the needs of the Lowcountry first. Throughout my time in Washington, I have consistently opposed the DC establishment, prioritized the interests of the Lowcountry and worked to strengthen border security and combat high inflation. While we may not always agree, I promise to always be honest and transparent with the Lowcountry about where I stand. Serving the Lowcountry has been the honor of my lifetime.
Catherine Templeton
Full Name: Catherine Brawley Templeton
Birthdate: December 7, 1970
Office you currently hold: N/A
Office you are running for: US Congress, South Carolina’s First District
Hometown: Mt. Pleasant, SC
Current Residence: Mt. Pleasant, SC
College(s) you attended:
Professional Experience: President of US Brick, Director of South Carolina DHEC, Director of South Carolina Labor, Licensing, and Regulation, Union-Busting Lawyer
Current Profession: Businesswoman
Political Party: Republican
What are the three most important issues that you hope to address if elected?: 1) Immigration. With 10,000 illegal aliens crossing the Southern Border every day and 12,000 unaccompanied minors in federal custody sheltering in local schools across the country, let’s call this what it is: an invasion. The truth is that the United States is spending $500 Billion on housing, clothing, feeding, and sheltering illegal immigrants while enough lethal doses of fentanyl were entering through the border the past year to kill every single American. The government MUST stop handing out free phones and flights to anywhere in the U.S. for illegal immigrants. The treatment they’re getting is better than our own veterans and citizens.
The solution to this problem starts with finishing the wall, cracking down on cartels and illegal drug traffickers streaming across the border, redirecting Biden’s budget from IRS agents to border agents, and reinstating President Trump’s Remain in Mexico policy.
2) The Economy: Joe Biden’s failure to lead has put America on the brink of economic disaster and we are using China as our bank. As President of US Brick, I helped create well-paying jobs right here in the Lowcountry. As Labor Secretary in South Carolina, I brought tens of thousands of jobs to the Lowcountry and over a billion dollars in investments right here on American soil.
I believe the United States can grow the economy by investing in companies here and building things here.
3) Responsible Development: The Lowcountry is booming, but it is essential that this growth does nothing to damage our natural heritage or our way of life. Growth and environmental protection can be symbiotic, but only if elected leaders work within our communities to ensure we do not grow faster than our infrastructure, quality of life, or environment can bear.
What makes you stand apart from the other candidates?: For the last four years, we’ve had a Representative more focused on getting on television than getting things done for the Lowcountry. Nancy Mace has flip-flopped for fame, going so far as destroying our Republican majority for the chance to get on television and raise money.
That’s not who I am. I am running for Congress to serve the Lowcountry, not become famous, My whole life, I’ve run to work. From serving as Sunday School coordinator to creating a foundation at my children’s public school, I’ve always believed in putting service before self. We could use more of that in Washington.
I’ve worked inside and outside government to get things done. As South Carolina Labor Secretary, I fought the Obama Administration after being sued personally to secure jobs for South Carolinians, to secure Boeing’s investment in the Lowcountry. And I won.
In the private sector, I founded US Brick, a $100M manufacturing company headquartered right here in the Lowcountry. I saw foreign companies dominating our construction market and broke their stranglehold with products Made in America. Now, US Brick is the largest privately held American-owned brick manufacturer in the world.
The Lowcountry is an incredible place. It’s not a platform for someone to use to chase cameras. It deserves a Congressman who acts like an adult. I have the experience and conviction to achieve consistent, conservative, and serious results for South Carolina.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
