The Moultrie News recently contacted the three Republican and two Democratic candidates vying for the 1st congressional district seat — covering an area from Charleston to Hilton Head Island — currently held by US Rep. Nancy Mace. Michael B. Moore is the first hopeful who has responded to this paper's questions.Â
Moultrie News: Briefly tell us about your background and what are your greatest past accomplishments that make you worthy of your candidacy?
Michael B. Moore: "I’m a citizen candidate and forward-thinking business executive with nearly four decades of private sector experience. I’ve held leadership roles at Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurial ventures and nonprofit organizations. But most rewardingly, I served as the founding president and CEO of the International African American Museum, which opened its doors in Charleston last June.
I come from a long line of pioneering public servants and civil rights leaders — most notably my great-great-grandfather, Civil War hero and Reconstruction-era Congressman Robert Smalls. In 1862, Smalls commandeered a Confederate ship in Charleston Harbor, carrying his family and 15 other enslaved people to freedom. Smalls went on to become one of the first African Americans to serve in Congress, and I’m now seeking the same House seat held by my great-great-grandfather almost 150 years ago.
After graduating from Syracuse University, I earned an MBA from Duke University and received an honorary Doctorate in Public History from Dickinson College. I’m a devoted husband to my wife, Karla; the loving father of four sons: David, Lucas, Israel, and Robert; and a new grandfather to Sasha."
MN: How do we keep the US and Lowcountry economies thriving and viable? What’s working and what needs to be rectified?
MBM: "As a former business executive, I know firsthand that a healthy, equitable economy empowers all members of the workforce. I earned my MBA from Duke University. I spent four decades in the private sector. I know how to make the economy work for working families.
For far too long, our neighbors have struggled to cope with rising prices and the cost of living in the Lowcountry — all while the wealthiest earners fail to pay their fair share in taxes. I believe in economic policy that uplifts working families, respects labor rights, invests in local businesses and holds big corporations accountable.
That’s why labor groups like the International Longshoremen's Association Local 1422 and the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union have endorsed our campaign — because they know how hard I’ll fight for the working people of SC-01 in Congress."
MN: What are your views on the U.S. border crisis?
"I come from a family of public servants, and I believe strongly in law and order. We must secure our southern border and take serious action to create a safe, orderly and humane immigration system.
Just three months ago, US senators from both parties came together and crafted a comprehensive, bipartisan bill to do just that. But Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers, led by extreme politicians like Nancy Mace, chose to tank that measure at the last minute — all because they thought it would hurt Trump’s chances of winning back the White House in November.
That’s the very definition of putting partisan politics over the needs of the people. Nancy Mace, Mike Johnson and MAGA Republicans would rather weaken America’s southern border than anger Donald Trump. Unlike our current representative, I’m actually serious about solving the problem at our southern border, and I’m ready to get to work in Congress."
MN: What unique qualities do you bring to the table that the others may not be offering?
"I’m an experienced business and community leader with a proven record of balancing budgets, bridging divides and bringing home results for SC-01. I’m also the only candidate in this race who has delivered real, big-time investment to the Lowcountry. At the International African American Museum, I cultivated donors, forged alliances and finished a project that had been in the works for more than two decades. When all was said and done, I helped raise more than $125 million for the historic site.
In both business and politics, my values are informed by my family’s legacy of service to the Lowcountry. Robert Smalls was a Civil War hero and congressman during Reconstruction. Samuel Jones Bampfield was a South Carolina lawyer and legislator. Judge Harold Boulware litigated the Briggs v. Elliott school segregation case — and he served on the legal team that won Brown v. Board of Education.
But none of that would have been possible without my great-great-great-great-grandmother, who arrived in America at Gadsden’s Wharf. It was there that more than 260,000 souls were enslaved, and she was one of them. Still, her descendants — my ancestors — believed in the promise of this country. They fought to create a more perfect union, just like I’m doing now.
Finally, I’m proud to fight every single day for the voting rights of more than 30,000 Black folks — families who were unconstitutionally removed from SC-01. Last October, I even spoke in front of the Supreme Court as the justices heard oral arguments in South Carolina’s racial gerrymandering case.
You may not know this, but a century and a half ago, Robert Smalls’ congressional district also was gerrymandered by powerful politicians. Today, many of the families kicked out of SC-01 are almost certainly descended from the same constituents that my great-great-grandfather served. While I wish it wasn’t necessary, I’m honored to champion the same ideals that Robert Smalls stood for in his lifetime: equality, justice and voting rights for all.
I’m the only candidate in this race who can translate those values into real action and tangible results for SC-01 — by energizing Democratic voters, persuading independent-minded Republicans and assembling the coalition needed to win this election in November. With their help, we’re going to restore honest leadership, commonsense solutions, and Lowcountry values to Congress."
