Democrat hopeful embarks on “uphill battle”

A Tri-County Tech instructor concedes her quest to unseat a third-term U-S representative from what’s considered an entrenched Republican district is an uphill battle.  But it’s a battle that Democrat Mary Geren is eager to undertake.  A large number of her supporters cheered for her yesterday in a ballroom at Clemson University’s Madren Center.  Geren elicited cheers and some laughter when she invoked the popular phrase that helped Republican Donald Trump grab the White House from the Democrats when she said, “It’s time to actually, really ‘drain the swamp.’”  Geren said she grew up in a large family and that her father, for decades, worked in a rock quarry and had trouble making ends meet.  Geren’s message yesterday is that there is no shame in poverty nor, she said, is it wrong for someone to rely on government assistance when it’s needed.  She accused Republican Representative Jeff Duncan of insensitivity to the poor and to females.  If Geren wins, she’d be the first of her gender to represent South Carolina’s Third District.