Chapin Labor Day festival full of art and politics - wistv.com - Columbia, South Carolina |

Chapin Labor Day festival full of art and politics

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By Jack Kuenzie - bio | email

CHAPIN, SC (WIS) - The calendar says September, but politicians want you to start thinking November. Labor Day signals the unofficial start to the fall campaign season, and candidates are wasting no time reaching out to voters.
     
The parade had all the things you'd expect in a small town on a big holiday. There were also dozens of political candidates marking the start of the most intense phase of their campaigns.

They run the gamut -- some well-known and well financed, others running for legislative offices and school boards on shoestring budgets.

"It's great, I mean it's the Chapin Labor Day parade," said Rep. Nikki Haley. "We've got nothing but great support going and we're excited. We're going to push hard to November and we're looking forward to it."

"Things going really well," said Sen. Vincent Sheheen. "It's exciting that reactions are wonderful as we go all around South Carolina."

Some candidates you've probably never heard of, like Eddie McCain, promoting his libertarian approach to representing the Second Congressional District. "I'm under no disillusion," he said. "I know that I've got an uphill battle like this here, and that it's going to take a big break for me to be able to win. But I'll never see that break if I'm not out here hustling like I'm doing now."

Lesser-knowns might run the risk of being overshadowed by rivals with far larger bank accounts and support groups, but Labor Day is about work. And for politicians, a couple of hours of working the crowd could pay off when election day rolls around.

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