By Carol Lucas
On the evening of June 11, before going to bed, I checked the vote count for South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, a seat that stretches from Greater Charleston to Hilton Head Island. It did not look promising for the person I had supported and voted for — Mac Deford.
The next day, my apprehension was confirmed. Mac had lost by a mere 681 votes. Every bit as depressing as this result was the total vote count. Only 21,081 votes had been cast in this two way race. Think about that for a moment, and let the implications sink in. Only 21,000 people (supposedly Democrats, possibly Independents) were sufficiently concerned about our present day situation in the U.S. House of Representatives to get out and vote.
Was it an assumption that Nancy Mace was going to win anyway, so why bother? Was it the old fall-back of ‘one vote won’t make a difference?’
I wrote about Representative Mace last week, and my article was hardly a glowing report. While I have no intentions of reiterating my concerns regarding her questionable activities, let me say that we need every citizen who has even the remotest concern about the direction our country is headed to go to the ballot box. And that should have included the election of June11.
While it may seem to be a moot point at this juncture, I am going to dedicate this week’s column to Deford because I believe his time in politics is far from over.
This young man is enthusiastic about and devoted to many issues that impact all of us. Perhaps the one that touches me more than any is that of a woman’s right to choose what she does with her own body. I listened to Deford speak on three occasions, and the story he told of his grandmother’s passing as the result of a backstreet abortion, leaving several children to go into foster homes, hit me the hardest. I was forced to wonder how many have faced this, and to ponder what I might have done, had I been in the same position.
If the only issue of Deford’s platform were a woman’s reproductive rights, I would still have voted for him. However, he is adamant about common-sense gun reform and was awarded the 2024 Gun Sense candidate distinction by Moms Demand Action.
“Amid a crisis where our state leads in one of the highest rates of gun-related deaths, our state legislature has irresponsibly passed permitless carry,” stated Deford. “This law is indefensible, eliminating training requirements and essentially basing the public carrying of firearms on an honor system. It’s absurd — our regulations are stricter for liquor than for guns. You can purchase a gun on a Sunday, but you’re prohibited from buying liquor.”
At this juncture, I believe a little history of what Deford has done for his country and for South Carolina is called for.
Upon graduating from high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard, active duty. This took him to Baltimore where he served as a Coast Guard Police Officer. At the young age of 19 he was appointed as a Watch Commander for the base police department. Two years later he was transferred to Charleston where he became a Maritime Law Enforcement Specialist. This position included the training of others as well as participating in search and rescue operations.
With an honorable discharge, he went on to attend The Citadel and the Charleston School of Law which enabled him to engage in public service, something that was always an ultimate goal.
Deford has “all the right stuff” to enter the national political scene. He is deeply devoted to bettering the lives of those in the Lowcountry by engaging in policies that include environmental protection, affordable housing, and infrastructure. His approach in all that he does is to generate a positive, cooperative work atmosphere by listening to everyone’s ideas.
There is no reason to think he will not try to bring that same approach to federal governance. Doesn’t that sound like what we need to help defuse the vitriol we see in D.C. today? Isn’t it a breath of fresh air?
Of course I will vote for Michael Moore in November, but I won’t forget about Mac Deford. I won’t forget his youthful enthusiasm, his ability to articulate (after all I was an English teacher) and his objectives in providing meaningful representation of South Carolina.
I feel very strongly that Deford may have been sidetracked in this election, but he certainly hasn’t been derailed. Much lies ahead for him.
Carol Lucas is a retired high school teacher and a Lady’s Island resident. She is the author of the recently published “A Breath Away: One Woman’s Journey Through Widowhood.”
