Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jermaine Johnson picks Charlestonian as running mate

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) — Democratic nominee for governor Jermaine Johnson has made his long-awaited pick for his potential lieutenant governor, choosing a man who may be a familiar face to many Lowcountry Democrats.

The former chairman of the Charleston County Democratic Party, Sam Skardon, will join Johnson on the ballot this November.

Johnson and Skardon made the announcement on the south steps of the State House in Columbia, where supporters cheered as the pair descended the stairs to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’,” a symbolic nod to the campaign’s message of optimism and change.

“I believe we can win in November and we can build a new South Carolina together,” Skardon told supporters.

The selection ends months of speculation about who Johnson would choose for lieutenant governor and completes the Democratic ticket heading into the general election campaign.

Johnson praised Skardon’s record in business and nonprofit work, describing him as a leader committed to serving communities across the state.

“I wanted a partner who has spent his career doing the work, not just talking about it,” Johnson said. “Sam Skardon has spent the last seven years putting capital directly into the hands of South Carolina small business owners and clean energy projects that our state’s big banks would not touch. He has sat across the table from the line cook trying to open their own restaurant and the family trying to bring solar power to their community, and he found a way to say yes. That is the kind of leadership South Carolina needs in this moment, and I am honored to have him by my side.”

Skardon, a former congressional aide to the late Congressman and Civil Rights leader John Lewis and a nonprofit lender to the financing of infrastructure projects across the Carolinas. This has included not just that which is needed for solar energy, but also for battery storage and electric vehicles.

He has also financed smaller businesses, ranging from daycares and coffee shops to salon startups.

Skardon was once the Commissioner of the Charleston Housing Authority and served on the Charleston Women and Minority Business Empowerment Commission.

“My work has never been complicated,” Skardon said. “It is about getting capital into the hands of more people so they can build wealth in our economy too. That is not a radical idea, but an American idea, and it is one South Carolina has not lived up to for the families and small business owners who need it most. I am running for Lieutenant Governor because I want to build an economy that works for the whole state, alongside a Governor who shares that vision.”

Raised in Mount Pleasant, Skardon maintained his South Carolina roots and never strayed far, seeking higher education at both Emory University in Atlanta and at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. amid his tenure in Lewis’ office before returning home to South Carolina to work in community development finance.

Skardon now lives in Charleston alongside his wife, Charleston City Councilmember Leslie Skardon, and his twin sons, Lewis and Lawson, each of whom were named respectively in honor of Rep. Lewis and Rev. Jim Lawson, who was the mind behind nonviolent civil disobedience training that helped push forward the civil rights movement.

Skardon said his campaign message will focus on economic opportunity and addressing challenges facing working South Carolinians.

“There are two kinds of people in the South,” Skardon said. “There are people who love the South, and there are people who love it so much they want to change it. I love South Carolina enough to want to change it, because I’ve always seen the untapped potential here, and that is what this campaign is about.”

“I think I speak for a lot of young working families when I say we’re sick and tired of hearing reasons why the state can’t help, why the state can’t do something,” Skardon said.

If elected, Johnson said Skardon would play a key role in efforts to support small businesses and underserved communities.

“It’d be an honor to help Jermaine build an economy that works for all of us,” Skardon said. “The South Carolina economy is two-tiered right now, and we need to give people a realistic path of upward mobility.”

Meanwhile, Republicans have also finalized their statewide ticket. State Sen. Mike Reichenbach of Florence was previously selected as the running mate of Republican gubernatorial nominee and Attorney General Alan Wilson back in January.

Reichenbach said that, if elected, he would lead the proposed “Family First Audit Initiative,” an effort aimed at increasing transparency in government spending. The initiative would use technology, including blockchain-based tracking systems, to monitor how taxpayer dollars are spent and ensure funds reach their intended destinations.

”Is what government is doing good for South Carolina families? How do we bring more rigor into finding that waste, fraud, and abuse- that hidden tax that affects South Carolina families? How can we lessen government spending...what our initiative is going to use is technology, cryptocurrency, blockchain technology, to track dollars, to make sure the dollars are ending up where they need to be and that they’re being spent appropriately,” Reichenbach said.

With both major-party tickets now set, candidates will spend the coming months campaigning across South Carolina as they compete for voters ahead of the November general election.

Johnson and Skardon will soon begin campaigning across the state, focusing on affordability, public education, healthcare accessibility and ways to improve South Carolina’s economy to better serve small business owners and working families.

“The campaign’s message throughout has been simple,” a release stated. “No DC in SC, and a new South Carolina built by South Carolinians, for South Carolinians.”