From staff reports
Lowcountry Indivisible (LCI) announced Tuesday its endorsement of four candidates for the November 8 General Election in South Carolina. The endorsements were based on results of surveys conducted by the group.
The four are Dr. Annie Andrews, candidate for U.S. Congress, District 1; Lisa Ellis, candidate for S.C. Superintendent of Education; Barb Nash, candidate for State House District 124; and Marilyn Harris, candidate for Beaufort County Council, District 2.
Lowcountry Indivisible, a local chapter of the nation-wide Indivisible organization, is a non-partisan group of 2,000 members who support progressive causes. Early in September, the group sent surveys to each candidate running for a federal, state or county office. The surveys were based on LCI’s 13 core values and included questions about immigration, the environment, education, women’s rights, national security, taxes and health care, all designed to determine each candidate’s positions on these issues.
LCI chair Mitch Siegel said this is the third election season the group has distributed the surveys. “It’s been valuable. It has enabled us to find candidates that we can strongly support, regardless of party affiliation,” he said.
Siegel explained that responses on returned surveys were scored using a standardized scorecard then evaluated for their alignment with LCI’s own positions on issues. Consideration was also given to each candidate’s viability by checking the campaign’s financial and organizational resources. Those who scored well in both areas were reviewed by LCI’s board prior to a final decision.
“We hope that we’ll be able to endorse more candidates in future elections,” Siegel said, “but we feel very good about the four we’ve endorsed this year.”
