Runoff 2012: The Andre Empire Strikes Back

While Tom Rice Works on a Jordan Endorsement, Andre Bauer Breaks Out His Own Arsenal of Florence Backers, Including Kris Crawford...


     Another morning, another Sausage & Cheese Omelette at Bazen's Restaurant with a 7th Congressional District candidate!  Day Two of the Florence GOP roundup took place early this am, as Andre Bauer gave his return of serve to Tom Rice's event here 24 hours earlier - and he smacked it back pretty hard... Was it a winner? We'll see, because the ball is still on the court and it's up to Rice to hit back.  OK, OK - we're done with the tennis terms...


    While the buzz of whether Tom Rice will gain Jay Jordan's endorsement, Bauer broke out some local big guns of his own today... Florence State Rep. Kris Crawford - who had endorsed Jordan in the Primary - threw his weight, stethoscope and Dr's jacket (nice touch!) behind the former Lt. Governor. He was joined by former FCGOP Chairman Joe Griffin, Florence City Councilman Glynn Willis and 2010 Solicitor candidate Rose Mary Parham.  Adding that to the tabbing of him by former opponent Katherine Jenerette, along with a visit from Mike Huckabee Thursday, and Bauer has staked a good claim to the Pee Dee.  At this point, Rice has cleaned up with the Grand Strand former opponents (Chad Prosser, Randal Wallace) and Bauer has cut across both, with more success in Florence.  Sitting in the background during all of this still is Jay Jordan.  And the world stands still until then.....


   Endorsements are like Birth Control: if you do it right, you really don't need it, but it's always smart to have them as a precaution.... Never heard it explained that way before? Welcome to SC6... It looked for a minute that Bauer was getting inundated by Rice in that department, but he appears he has recovered.  2012 appears to be a year where they don't matter much, but better to have them than not. Now onto the event itself, and we'll objectively try to analyze who did better at Bazen's..


   Sizewise, Rice and Bauer were pretty even.  Both had that 50-60 person range, but the crowds were a bit different from each other.  Rice's event was a bit quieter, and that was no surprise.  Tom Rice isn't exactly a known quantity in the Pee Dee, so it was more of a fact finding event - Rice shaking hands, and people getting to know him and decide if he would get their vote.  Bauer's was much louder and chattier.  Why?  Andre is a well-known quantity here, so it was more of a gathering of familiar people having breakfast in support.  Naturally, I decided to sit with some people I hardly knew!


  Honestly, I got there at 800, and Crawford and Griffin were gone.  I ended up sitting with Tom Grimes, Keegan Bailey, his dad and Cody Simpson - no, not the teen heartthrob singer, the FMU Young Republican. I ended up talking shop for so long with Mr. Bailey, that I didn't realize that Bauer and his posse had left - which is why this is the only pic I took there...

Hey, I had to improvise... It's better than nothing, right?  Thanks to SCNow for letting me steal their pic on the post heading.







    So in review, where we thought we possibly would have a clear-cut line in the sand between the candidates, it's possibly more muddy than when we started: some things didn't happen, and others did occur that dampens a Jordan endorsement for Rice - if it occurs at all.   Either way, the hysteria will keep up for seven more days.  Bigger jobs lie ahead, like organizing the Get Out the Vote efforts, which is what really matters.  It is going to be a close runoff, and whoever succeeds at that - not who gets the endorsements - will be the one who wins, and hopefully becomes our first Congressman....



Editors Note:  As we were writing this, SCNow's John Sweeney is now reporting that Jay Jordan has released a statement, stating that he will NOT be endorsing either Bauer or Rice in the runoff... It would appear to make a Rice victory much harder, given Bauer's stronger presence and performance in the region.  We wouldn't say by any stretch that this race is over, but Rice does have a harder road ahead...

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