Mac Deford filed today with the South Carolina Election Commission to place his name on the ballot for the Democratic nomination for South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, launching a campaign he says is focused on "lowering costs for South Carolinians, delivering experienced, community-rooted leadership for the Lowcountry, and restoring accountability in Washington."
Deford said his campaign will focus on confronting the cost-of-living crisis facing the Lowcountry, including the rising cost of housing, health care, insurance and everyday necessities. He said the federal government must do more to expand affordable housing, invest in infrastructure, protect Social Security and Medicare, improve access to care, preserve the coast, waterways and natural environment that are central to the region’s quality of life and economic future, and combat what he described as the administration’s tariffs that are driving up costs for families and businesses.
“The people of this district want leadership that understands the pressures they are under,” Deford said. “They want someone who understands why housing is unaffordable, why health care remains out of reach for too many families, why infrastructure has not kept pace with growth, why tariffs and economic mismanagement raise costs at home, and why protecting our environment is essential to protecting our economy. These are Lowcountry issues, and they demand someone who knows this district and has worked on these challenges firsthand.”
Deford, a U.S. Coast Guard veteran, former federal law enforcement officer, graduate of The Citadel, and attorney who has advised local governments across the Lowcountry, said the people of South Carolina’s 1st District are looking for more than "opposition politics." He said they are looking for a candidate who is ready to hold the executive branch accountable, restore Congress as a coequal branch of government, and offer a vision for the future.
“For too long, Washington has lurched from one crisis to the next while working people pay the price,” Deford said. “The answer cannot simply be opposition. We must be willing to hold the administration accountable, defend the Constitution, and offer the people of this district something better: lower costs, stronger communities, greater opportunity, and a government that works again for the public.”
Deford also said Congress must reclaim its constitutional role in matters of war and peace, pointing to the war in Iran as an example of how far the legislative branch has allowed its authority to erode.
“One of the clearest signs of congressional weakness has been its willingness to surrender decisions of war to the executive branch,” Deford said. “If this nation is going to send Americans into conflict, that decision must be debated and authorized by Congress. We need a representative who understands that Congress is not a rubber stamp for any president, regardless of party.”
Deford enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard after high school and served as a federal law enforcement officer, including in Charleston. A graduate of The Citadel, the Charleston School of Law, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned his MBA, he later built a career in public service law, advising local governments, including the Town of Mount Pleasant and the Town of Hilton Head Island.
Former Charleston County Democratic Party Chairman Sam Skardon said, “I’ve watched Mac put in the time and effort to reach voters all across our district. He has spent years listening to us, and he knows our communities. He is the candidate who will stay focused on our district and deliver the change we desperately need in Washington.”
Deford said his campaign will be built around the idea that public office "is about service, not status," and that the Lowcountry deserves a representative "grounded in the communities, challenges and opportunities of the district."
“Our district needs serious leadership,” Deford said. “Leadership that will defend the Constitution, lower the cost of living, protect our coast, strengthen our infrastructure, and fight for the people who call the Lowcountry home. That is why I am running.”