Two Former South Carolina Governors Make Rare Joint Endorsement of Democrat Annie Andrews in Senate Race

Two former governors of South Carolina, David Beasley and Jim Hodges, have come together in a rare joint endorsement of Democrat Annie Andrews's Senate bid. Beasley is a Republican and Hodges is a Democrat.

Andrews, a pediatrician, is looking to flip the seat currently held by Darline Graham, the Trump-endorsed sister of the late senator Lindsey Graham, in what has become an unexpectedly competitive race for the usually reliably red state.

In the former governors' joint endorsement video, Beasley says the country is too divided and the political rhetoric has gotten way out of hand. Hodges says that is why they are coming together to support Annie Andrews.

The two former governors, who once faced off against each other, acknowledged that while they do not agree on everything, they agree on Andrews as the best candidate to put South Carolina first.

Beasley says Annie understands that leadership is not about making people angrier, it is about making things better. Hodges adds that she is willing to put people ahead of politics.

Beasley adds that they may have served as governor from different political parties, but they agree South Carolina deserves better than more of the same political fighting.

Last week, Beasley, a Democrat-turned-Republican who served as governor from 1995 to 1999 before losing re-election to Hodges, wrote an opinion piece for the Charleston-based Post and Courier paper, lamenting the state of the party under Donald Trump.

Beasley wrote that what has happened in the Republican Party today is heartbreaking, and that too many in the party have gone along with winning by tearing others down and pitting people and communities against one another. He wrote that he has yet to see President Donald Trump, as leader of the Republican Party, show compassion or even respect to someone or a group that he disagrees with.

He wrote that the vitriol is toxic and is undeniably feeding into the hearts, minds and souls of Americans. It is not the party that he knew, and it is not the party that he considers himself a member of, he added.

Recent polling has indicated that Graham still holds a lead over Andrews, though the nonpartisan Cook Political Report has moved the state in the Democrats' direction, from Likely Republican to Lean Republican.

It is not the only time in this year's midterms that prominent Republicans have crossed party lines and backed Democrats. In usually deep-red Kansas, two former Republican governors, Bill Graves and Mike Hayden, endorsed the Democratic candidate, Adam Hamilton, in his bid to unseat the Republican incumbent, senator Roger Marshall.

In Texas, another unexpected Senate battleground, the Democratic nominee, James Talarico, has received public endorsements from more than 20 Republican leaders, as well as members of the Bush family, over Republican Ken Paxton. There have also been cross-party endorsements from Republicans for Democrats in Georgia, Montana, Florida, Virginia, Illinois and South Dakota.