The Mac Deford for Congress campaign is responding with bemusement to reports of a new poll in South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District that does not include Deford among the Democratic candidates tested.
The campaign learned of the poll after a survey participant shared screenshots of the full questionnaire and list of candidates, which notably omitted Deford while including an individual who is not a candidate in the race. It is unclear who commissioned the poll.
“Every campaign season, someone in Washington decides to play political fantasy football with a district they don’t live in,” said campaign spokesperson Jeni Atchley. “When a survey leaves out a leading declared candidate who has been campaigning across this district for months, it creates a distorted picture of the race that risks misleading the public and diminishing the voices of voters who have already invested their time, energy, and trust in this race.”
“It is also concerning that the survey reportedly includes an individual who is not a candidate in this race while excluding a leading declared candidate,” Atchley added. “That approach undermines the integrity of the primary process and treats Democratic voters as an audience to be managed rather than participants to be respected.”
Last month, a Public Policy Polling survey showed Deford tied with a Republican frontrunner, state Rep. Mark Smith, and leading decisively among independent voters, reflecting the coalition needed to win this district.
“Mac Deford has been meeting voters in every corner of the Lowcountry since last August, holding public town halls and building a grassroots campaign rooted in real relationships,” Atchley said. “Any serious look at this race has to start with the people who are actually running and actually showing up.”
Deford said the campaign is focused on the people of the Lowcountry, not inside-the-Beltway guesswork.
“This race isn’t going to be decided by a vanity poll dreamed up by nameless consultants,” Deford said. “It’s going to be decided by Lowcountry voters who care about the cost of living, health care, infrastructure, and restoring accountability in Washington.”