South Carolina Rep. Joe Cunningham, who represents a district Trump won by 14 percentage points in 2016, offered an anti-endorsement of Sanders earlier this week ahead of the state's primary on Feb. 29.
"South Carolinians don't want socialism," Cunningham told the Charleston Post and Courier. "We want to know how you are going to get things done and how you are going to pay for them. Bernie's proposals to raise taxes on almost everyone is not something the Lowcountry wants and not something I'd ever support."
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Cunningham's comments in the Herald were excerpted from this article in the Post and Courier:
SC's Joe Cunningham slams Bernie Sanders' 'socialism' ahead of 2020 Democratic primaryAsked if he would support Sanders if he becomes the Democratic presidential nominee, Cunningham rejected the question's premise."Bernie Sanders will not be the nominee," he said. Sanders' campaign declined to respond. Cunningham's statement represents the first time he has substantially waded into the presidential contest and comes just as national attention is turning towards his home state of South Carolina. Sanders has soared into front-runner status after strong performances in the first two nominating states of Iowa and New Hampshire and is looking to build on that momentum in the Nevada caucuses and South Carolina primary.
South Carolina Republicans did not cede any credit to Cunningham for criticizing Sanders, arguing the Democratic Party is already "the party of socialism." "Joe Cunningham has a right to be nervous that Bernie Sanders' radical socialist agenda will drag his party down in defeat," said S.C. GOP spokesman Joe Jackson. "But it is laughable that he would actually stand up for 'Lowcountry values' - that was made clear the day he decided to put party over country and voted to impeach President Trump."
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