SC Democrats call on their party's US Senate nominee to quit
The South Carolina Democrat vying to oust Republican U.S. Sen. Tim Scott is facing calls from within her own party to fold her campaign, following the publication of additional leaked audio in which she appears to make disparaging remarks about her constituents

Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The South Carolina Democrat vying to oust Republican U.S. Sen. Tim Scott is facing calls from within her own party to fold her campaign, following the publication of additional leaked audio in which she appears to make disparaging remarks about her constituents.
The calls for state Rep. Krystle Matthews to withdraw just two months ahead of the general election came Thursday in reaction to leaked audio published by conservative activist group Project Veritas of Matthews speaking to one of its members, without her knowledge.
Sitting in a restaurant, Matthews, who is Black, is heard saying that she represents a āmostly whiteā district, adding, of white voters: āI keep them right here ā like under my thumbs. ... Otherwise, they get out of control ā like kids.ā
In a statement, Matthews acknowledged her voice on the recording, calling Project Veritas a āsatirical MAGA Powered news outlet.ā
The compilation also features more of Matthewsā conversation, parts of which were previously published by Project Veritas, in which she spoke to an inmate about funding her campaign with ādope boy moneyā and having Democrats run as Republicans, saying āsecret sleepersā represent āthe only way youāre gonna change the dynamics in South Carolina.ā
At the time of the earlier release, ahead of South Carolinaās June primary runoff, Matthews confirmed to The Associated Press that it was her voice on the tape but said the edited audio of a ātongue-in-cheekā exchange didnāt reflect the full picture.
Matthews won the runoff to face Scott, who is seeking what heās said will be his final Senate term and is among South Carolinaās most popular politicians. The Black Republican is widely expected to win the general election in South Carolina, where no Democrat has won a statewide race in more than 15 years.
On Thursday, Democrats including gubernatorial nominee Joe Cunningham said he concurred with state Rep. Justin Bamberg, who in an op-ed published online called Matthews ātoxic."
āIf any of our white counterparts had said the same thing with regards to blacks, the minority community, including myself, would be up in arms calling for that memberās immediate resignation," Bamberg added.
In a statement provided to AP, Cunningham said that āthere is absolutely no place in our political discourseā for Matthews' comments, adding that āthe Democratic Party cannot and should not tolerate such behavior from our elected officials and candidates.ā
State Sen. Brad Hutto, Democratsā leader in that chamber ā who was also his partyās nominee to challenge U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham in 2014 ā echoed Cunningham's comments about Matthews' Senate bid, telling AP, "When candidates of either party start making irresponsible statements, beyond what party theyāre from, they need to reevaluate their candidacy, and thatās what needs to happen here.ā
One of the fellow Democrats Matthews defeated, Catherine Fleming Bruce, told AP she agreed with the calls for Matthews to step aside, saying the nominee āhas made it impossible for her to be that standard bearer, representing our stateās diverse population.ā
Trav Robertson, chairman of the state's Democrats, emphasized on Thursday that Matthews didn't represent the party's perspective but stopped short of urging her to quit her campaign, which he said was ābecoming a distraction to other Democrats on the ballot.ā
āIf I were advising her campaign, I would focus on her getting reelected to the (state) House of Representatives," Robertson told AP.
Were Matthews to suspend her campaign, her name would likely still remain on ballots, which party officials said were already being produced for overseas voters. With no third-party candidate in the race, Scott's name is the only other that would appear.
āRegardless of race, I love everyone,ā Matthews said in her statement. āOne thing you can learn from Project Veritasās first audio attack on me, is obviously I have no biases toward a certain ethnic group.ā
___
James Pollard contributed to this report.
___
Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP