{"id":3952,"date":"2026-07-30T18:08:26","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T18:08:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=3952"},"modified":"2026-07-30T18:08:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T18:08:26","slug":"sc-democrat-jermaine-johnson-picks-running-mate-heres-who-he-wants-as-lt-gov-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=3952","title":{"rendered":"SC Democrat Jermaine Johnson picks running mate. Here\u2019s who he wants as Lt. Gov."},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Sitting in at State Rep. Jermaine Johnson\u2019s kitchen table in his Richland County house, former Charleston County Democratic Party Chairman Sam Skardon talks about the potential for South Carolina Democrats in the upcoming 2026 midterm elections.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=3950\">Driver killed when truck runs off SC road and crashes multiple times, cops say<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe opportunity for organizing in this cycle is incredible, and that\u2019s why I think there\u2019s real possibility of seeing different results,\u201d Skardon said.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Democrats have a candidate in all 124 state House districts, each of the seven congressional districts and for each of the statewide office.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The 38-year-old Skardon himself will be one of the statewide candidates. Johnson, the Democratic nominee for governor, on Thursday announced Skardon would be his lieutenant governor running mate in November\u2019s election.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Skardon spent two years as Charleston County Democratic Party chairman, a role that requires organizing efforts to mobilize voters ahead of elections.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Skardon, who also worked for the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis, worked for the Clean Energy Fund of the Carolinas for the last two years. The nonprofit lender finances solar, battery storage and electric vehicle infrastructure projects across North and South Carolina.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Previously, Skardon worked at a nonprofit community lender that provided financing for small businesses. It focused on businesses that were women and minority owned businesses, and affordable housing developments around the state.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s an incredible opportunity to advance a cause I believe in,\u201d Skardon said in an interview discussing being Johnson\u2019s running mate. \u201cThe career I\u2019ve built is also in community lending. So it\u2019s about building an economy that works for South Carolina, and that means getting capital into communities that wouldn\u2019t otherwise have access to it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Skardon also has served as a commission on the Charleston Housing Authority and on the Charleston Women and Minority Business Empowerment Commission.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The role of lieutenant governor is only to take over if the governor resigns, dies or is removed from office. Other than that, the job has is no defined responsibilities and governors can set how they want that job to operate. Johnson said he would have Skardon work with the small business community.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s got tremendous experience helping out our small businesses and organizations that don\u2019t have traditional ways of accessing capital and figuring out the whole strategy behind how to get access to money to you know realize their American dream,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cSomebody like Sam, who has experience doing that, can give hope to some people who never felt like they could even realize their dream of opening up a restaurant, or opening up a barber shop, or they just don\u2019t know where to start.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=3949\">See an alligator in your SC yard? If you\u2019re in a HOA, it\u2019s up to them how to handle it<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>In the general election, Johnson is facing off Attorney General Alan Wilson, who won the Republican nomination in June in a runoff. Wilson\u2019s running mate is state Sen. Mike Reichenbach, R-Florence.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Skardon in the interview Wednesday ahead of the rollout was ready to take a shot against Wilson, who is in his 16th year as attorney general.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSouth Carolinians want something different. They don\u2019t want a family that\u2019s been in office for 58 years,\u201d referring to Wilson\u2019s father, U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, who is in his 42nd year in elected office. \u201cThat is not a ticket that\u2019s going to deliver change.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Johnson\u2019s campaign pointed out that Skardon sought to help small businesses such as food trucks, daycare operators, coffee shops and hair salons as his campaign wants to focus on public education, health care access affordability and building an economy that works for small business and working families.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Skardon has mostly been in the background of campaigns as opposed to being a candidate. He worked as a field organizer for then U.S. Sen. Barack Obama\u2019s 2008 campaign first in South Carolina\u2019s presidential primary and later in Georgia\u2019s general election.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>He ran for the state Senate in 2020, challenging then state Sen. Sandy Senn, R-Charleston in the general election. He lost by 1,300 votes.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Skardon\u2019s wife, Leslie Skardon, was elected to Charleston City Council last year.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The 41-year-old Johnson, who is known for being charismatic and experienced homelessness while he was growing up, said Skardon will help balance the ticket as someone who has \u201cknow-how.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe has a lot of the the the experience of working with people who are looking for opportunities, knowing how to create those opportunities for people, and knowing how to come up with solutions to complicated problems,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=3948\">See an alligator in your SC yard? If you\u2019re in a HOA, it\u2019s up to them how to handle it<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Democratic nominee Jermaine Johnson tapped Sam Skardon, a Charleston nonprofit and clean energy finance leader, as his running mate for South Carolina lieutenant governor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3951,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>SC Democrat Jermaine Johnson picks running mate. Here\u2019s who he wants as Lt. 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