Wallace Continues Rise in 7th District Polls

April 21, 2012 7:39 PMViews: 526

Untitled 13 Wallace Continues Rise in 7th District Polls

By Paul Gable

Myrtle Beach city councilman Randal Wallace has become the “little engine that could” among Republican candidates for the 7th Congressional District nomination.

Although he trails significantly in money raising, normally the “mother’s milk” of politics, Wallace has been polling respectably among the more, supposedly, high flying candidates in the race – Andre Bauer, Chad Prosser, Jay Jordan and Tom Rice.

A personable individual, effective speaker with a good grasp of issues and an extremely hard working campaigner, Wallace’s personal attributes seem to be leveling the playing field somewhat with his better funded opponents.

Saturday, Wallace scored what has to be considered a significant boost for his campaign when he tied Bauer for top spot in a straw poll at the 7th Congressional District Republican Convention. Prosser finished in third place with Jordan and Rice tying for fourth.

District conventions are normally attended by hard core party members, the type who will go out and knock on doors for the candidate of their choice. They are also a core of voters who you know will show up at the polls and bring along their friends.

While Wallace still has obstacles to overcome to even get into a runoff for the nomination, we know he will work hard right up to June 12th, meeting as many voters as he can along the way.

Like the little engine of the children’s storybook, Wallace is climbing the mountain saying “I think I can, I think I can.” The better funded, glitzier candidates in the race would be wise to watch in their rear view mirrors before they get run over.

This district has a history of supporting candidates who work hard and well in one on one situations with the voters. It may be a while ago now, but John Jenrette used the same style to upset long time congressman John McMillan in the old 6th Congressional District in the 1972 Democratic primary. McMillan served 34 years in the House of Representatives before being upset by Jenrette.

The new 7th Congressional District closely resembles the old 6th Congressional District in makeup.

It will be interesting to see if history repeats itself and Wallace puts himself in position on the night of June 12th to say, “I knew I could, I knew I could.”

 

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  • http://DickWithington.org Dick Withington

    I like Randal too, and could vote for him, if I don’t make the Runoff,, BUT,,, with our nation facing so many complicated problems, mostly regarding our economy, I really think this District and our Country needs someone like me who truly Understands Economics and how our Multi Trillion Dollar Domestic and Global Economy really work.

    I also think we need a Tough guy more than a Nice guy right now in Washington to get us on the right track. Randal and the rest of them are too young and TOO SOFT to get anything done. I have Cometed for years, battling Big Corporations and succeeding with my small and nimble businesses. That’s my honest opinion, but the Voters will decide, not some Party Straw Poll. Good article though.

  • http://twitter.com/BozMartin @BozMartin (please follow on Twitter)

    Congratulations to Randal. Quite impressive.

    If I could be absolutely certain that he will be his own man, rather than continuing to be beholden to a group of people here along the beach currently facing possible indictments for RICO violations by the feds, I would gladly support him and vote for him.

    However, nothing short of his coming out and telling the public here in our district the absolute truth about the manipulations, deceptions and criminal deeds of the “Myrtle Beach Mafia” would fully convince me that he had become his own man. In other words, Randal can kneecap Tom Rice with one press conference. He would make history by doing that, and he would be so admired for it by so many that his victory in the race would be assured.

    Does he have the balls to rear back on his hind legs and do that?

    We’ll see.

  • Kevin

    RICO is like anti-trust. A good excuse for the government to screw with anyone they want. Many people are stupid and don’t know that government power is the problem not the solution! I am proud to support Randal Wallace.

    • http://http//twitter.com/BozMartin That Boz Guy @ The Beach – @BozMartin on Twitter

      I’ve often said that Randal’s not a bad boy. He just got in with the wrong crowd.

      But I didn’t say he was the one in the race who could be indicted on RICO charges, did I? Not at all. That would be Tom Rice, for reasons that are well known to most who know anything at all about the real reason for Take Back May as revealed to some local businessmen by a since-deceased “silent leader” who he says was his best friend.

      It’s pretty widely known that Randal is not a target at all, and that one of two things likely with him happened in regard to the fed probe: 1) He sang like a bird and told them everything he knows (which surely was not the full extent of the interlocking scams being investigated), or 2) He lied to them about enough things that they knew the truth about to tell them a great deal more about what really happened than they had known before talking with him. Either way, I’m sure he was very helpful to them – but he isn’t facing indictment. None of those who took the pay-off money from the Chamber honchos are facing that, with the very likely exception of Allan Clemmons.

      I’m not a big fan of the feds myself. They give me the creeps just like they do most everyone else, and they sometimes play fast and loose with their own rules. But here’s a clue for you: Local, county and state government can be just as repressive as the federal government, and in many ways, tyranny begins at home.

      It’s a damned shame it had to come to this, but here we are. It will play out in the next few months, and it will be what it will be.