Rex late to the party
Supt. of Ed. Jim Rex, in the words of a famous hip-hop ode, needs to check himself before he wrecks himself. He’s in office thanks to the closest statewide election in state history, but he somehow thinks he can challenge announced Democratic gubernatorial candidates Sen. Vince Sheheen and Charleston attorney Mullins McLeod.
In a release, he said, “As I have traveled South Carolina over the past two and a half years, I have heard from people from all walks of life. They want jobs and a growing economy, a government committed to accountability and living within its means, a state committed to improving schools, and leaders who will protect our values. For too long, our government has been distracted and defined by narrow special interests.
I believe in accountability — that government is here to serve people, not the other way around. I know that as South Carolinians working together, we can solve our toughest challenges, and that’s why I am filing the appropriate paperwork today to actively explore a race for governor.
Our state faces unprecedented challenges, and each of us needs to thoroughly examine what we can do to provide solutions and move South Carolina forward.”
OK. But he doesn’t seem to have what it takes to move his campaign forward, as we reported on July 10:
Superintendent of Education Jim Rex does not look like a guy that is actively campaigning for office. According to his second quarter disclosure report, he raised $36,508 during that period, and spent $30,992.79. While we’re not the best with math (we blame our parents for that one), he spent 84.8 percent of his dollars, leaving only $9,220.14 on hand.
If he was going to run for governor, we expect that he would have already made his announcement, considering that the two other candidates, Sen. Vince Sheheen and Charleston attorney Mullins McLeod, are in the process of splitting the state Democratic electorate between them. So, it would relatively safe to assume he’s just running for reelection. With no viable announced Republican opponents, it seems like he thinks it’s A-OK to be spending this much of his war chest 17 months away from the general election.
According to a Democratic source close to the situation, “The idea that Rex is running for governor is now an absolute joke after this quarter. This report is a cry for help. There is no excuse to be spending 90 percent of the money you take in right now in the campaign season. Sheheen and McLeod are banking 90 percent of the money they take in. There needs to be an intervention for Rex.”
Great googly moogly. He’s also 67 years old. His first presidential election was LBJ v. Barry Goldwater. Our parents were small children at the time. Thinking that the guy leading the S.C. Democratic Party into the future probably shouldn’t be someone who hit his 30s before President Richard Nixon resigned.
