I am concerned about the future of South Carolina.  Our unemployment rate has soared over 12% – and far higher in some counties– and still we see no job creation strategy or plan out of the Governor’s office. 

This week, when I read about the DuPont Teijin Film plant that will shut down completely over the next year, while its remaining operations move to Virginia, I had to ask myself: why did Virginia get those remaining jobs, and not South Carolina? And I think the answer is that we’ve had a failure of leadership at the top in this state for far too long.

I also read that Carbon Motors Corporation recently chose Indiana as the location for a new 350 million dollar factory that would create 1550 jobs after considering two locations in South Carolina.  If we had a Governor that placed a real priority on economic development, we wouldn’t be losing out on these opportunities.

As governor, I will maintain a laser-like focus on getting South Carolina’s economy back on track. I know that we have a tenacious, committed workforce.  If we are able to create an environment in this state that makes it hospitable to business, we will come back from this crisis stronger than ever. I will devote the full energy and attention of my administration to reversing these trends and get back to business.  

In order to change the direction of our economy, I will need the help of the thousands of South Carolinians who agree that we can do better.  I hope you will consider joining my campaign to bring needed leadership to our state.  Together we can do great things for South Carolina.