Rick Wade says he doesn’t consider himself the underdog in his upcoming run for U.S. Senate from South Carolina.
The race will pit two African-Americans against each other, with Wade facing the incumbent, Tim Scott, who was appointed by governor Nikki Haley to fill the seat vacated by Jim DeMint January 1st.
Wade, 51, announced his entry into the race on Friday, releasing a statement saying, “the people of South Carolina understand that Washington is broken. If we are going to solve the big problems we face and get things done, our representatives must be accountable to their constituents. That starts with three commitments: First and foremost, is the commitment to listen to the people, secondly, a promise to work for bipartisan solutions to fix our problems, and thirdly, a commitment to reduce the influence of special interests that have enjoyed too much power in Washington for too long.”
When theGrio sat down with Wade before his announcement, he expressed confidence that he could win, even in one of the most conservative states in the country, and against a Republican incumbent with nearly $3 million in the bank as of this fall.
“This is doable despite the fact that we haven’t elected an African-American since reconstruction,” said Scott, speaking of his state’s history. (No matter who wins, between Scott and Wade, that streak will be broken in 2014.) “[And] there’s no question that South Carolina has evolved to a more Republican state. But here’s the pathway to victory: just by being on the ballot, on average I’ll get 45 percent of the vote. Every election year, Democrats fall between 45, 46 percent. There are a quarter million unregistered African American voters [in South Carolina], not to mention a significant number of voters who are registered [but] who are not voting. So part of the pathway is to enhance and expand our base registration and turnout.”
“The other part of it,” says Wade, who has been an executive at Hoffman-La Roche pharmaceuticals and Blue Cross Blue Shield, as well as a Commerce Department official, “is that I’m confident that I can win a reasonable percentage point of independents. I think my background of being from the private sector, [combined] with the right message, gets me maybe one to two points more of independents. And then there’s no question that expanding the Democratic base turn out, voter registration and mobilization, and adding just a small percentage of the independent votes takes us to the top. That’s a winning strategy.”
Wade is familiar with putting together strategies based on overcoming long odds. Born in Lancaster South Carolina, “a mill town,” as he describes it, Wade says his personal story “is so South Carolina.”
“I had very humble beginnings,” he says. “A father who didn’t graduate from high school, was a fork lift operator in the textile mills, a mother who graduated from what then was called Lancaster Training School and was a nurse’s assistant her entire life. And six of us; five boys and one girl and we all went to the public schools. All of my brothers; four other brothers had distinguished military careers, following in my father’s footsteps as a war veteran. And I was the first person in my family to pursue advanced education at the University of South Carolina and then ultimately at Harvard University.”
He reels off a string of “firsts” that he achieved as an ambitious young political staffer, turned politician in his home state: “first black chief of staff for a constitutional officer (former South Carolina Lieutenant Governor Nick Theodore and later a member of Democratic governor Jim Hodges’s cabinet.) … I’ve worked in the House of Representatives (as an analyst for the House Ways and Means Committee) and spent a lot of time in corporate America. And so it’s a journey that’s about hard work and faith and education. Just by putting it together and working hard I’ve built a tremendous career. And I think my story will resonate very well, not just with African Americans but with people across the state.”
That journey included graduating from the University of South Carolina, then going on to earn a Master of Public Administration degree from Harvard, where he was a Kennedy Fellow. Wade toyed with the idea of a career as a minister, studying at the Interdenominational Theological Center and Wesley Theological Seminary. He holds honorary Doctorates from Benedict College and S.C. State University. But in the end, his facility for business, and his interest in politics, are what drove his career. (He currently runs a business consulting firm, The Wade Group.) He has run for statewide office before: losing a bid for Secretary of State in 2002.
In 2007, Wade was tapped by the then fledgling presidential campaign of Illinois Senator Barack Obama to oversee the crucial South Carolina primary campaign, which helped Obama regain crucial momentum after winning the Iowa caucuses, only to lose to Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire. It’s something that could boost his support among black voters, but which will surely be used against him by the Tim Scott campaign. Wade ways he’s prepared for that.
“That may be an element,” Wade says of the potential attacks on his role in helping elect Obama in 2008, and then to re-elect him in 2012, when he was an adviser to the campaign. But he insists his role won’t cripple him in a state that went for McCain over Obama 54 to 48 percent, and for Mitt Romney over the president in 2012 55 percent to 44 percent.
“There are areas where I’ll certainly distinguish myself,” Wade says. “I’m not Barack Obama. I have my own politics and my own perspective about the issues.”
And while he is emphatic that he is running on his own terms, Wade is prepared for the onslaught from the right, based on his 2008 and 2012 roles. “I’m not running as Barack Obama, but on the other hand I can’t deny my relationship. I’m proud to know that I played a role in the election, not just of the first African-American president, but also of making a contribution to our democracy and to the democratic process, having been with him early on in 2007. I can’t deny that; you can Google me and there are pictures and I’m proud of that moment. And so I’m not going to run from that. However I’m not running as Barack Obama. I’m running as Rick Wade, with my agenda for South Carolina.
‘Not what we need based on where South Carolina is’
Wade turns to the case he plans to make against Scott, a Tea Party favorite elected to the House in 2010, after defeating Strom Thurmond’s son, among others, in the Republican primary. At the time of his election, Scott was the first black representative from South Carolina since Reconstruction, and along with then-Florida congressman Allen West, one of just two black Republicans in congress.
Wade acknowledges Scott’s achievement, but insists Scott hasn’t done much for his state with the position. “Well listen, Tim is not what we need based on where South Carolina is,” says Wade. “South Carolina has, unfortunately, some of the greatest health care disparities in the country. We’re ranked at the bottom on education. Our unemployment rate is one of the highest in the country. Tim’s not doing anything to fix those problems. He’s been in Congress, albeit he’s only been appointed for what, maybe a year now by Governor Haley. And he’s not doing anything. He’s not addressing the issues in Washington that help to close those health care disparities. And you’ve got to do more than just attack ‘Obamacare.’ I mean, what’s the answer? What’s the solution?”
When it comes to offering those solutions, he sees his biggest asset is his experience with, and understanding of, business and industry. “I was down in Charleston with Vice President Biden [a couple of months ago] when he made a big announcement about his infrastructure investment in the poorest areas of South Carolina, which is important to commerce and trade. Tim voted against that. Everything he’s doing is counterproductive to where we need to be going in the state of South Carolina. He voted against the Farm Bill.”
Wade argues that when it comes to “the resources that are needed to keep our economy going, and to keep people healthy and productive, he’s on the opposite side. And so I think the message I’m going to present is going to be addressing these very simple, everyday issues that are affecting people the most.”
Wade faces a primary challenger, Richland County councilwoman Joyce Dickerson, who is also African-American. But he enters the race as a heavy favorite.
His announcement Friday stated that he has begun traveling across the state on a listening tour. Wade said he plans to “make a more formal public announcement” of his candidacy “in the weeks ahead.”
Follow Joy Reid on Twitter at @thereidreport.