Mick Mulvaney
House Candidate
South Carolina 5th District

Mick Mulvaney is only 42 and currently serves in the South Carolina Senate.  He has received awards from the Palmetto Family Council for his work in the legislature and earned perfect ratings from the South Carolina Club for Growth (a pro-free market group) as well as the National Rifle Association. 

He achieved all this in less than four years in office.  Prior to public office, Mulvaney was in private practice with a large law firm and also managed his own law firm for a few years.

Mulvaney received his bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and his law degree from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Why he wins our Endorsement
Mulvaney has a very strong record of supporting free enterprise and individual rights in the state legislature.  He has been in public office since 2006, but has over a decade of experience working in the private sector.  Mulvaney has a record of taking on tough challenges in politics.  He was the first Republican to win in his legislative district in 2006 and took on a tough opponent in 2008 when he ran for the state senate.  He supports Congressional Term Limits and holding regular town hall meetings with constituents, even if they are not so pleasant.  Mulvaney is a tough, effective, and bright young star in the Republican Party and that is why he wins our endorsement.

Election Battle
Mulvaney has an opportunity to take down one of the key leaders in the Democratic leadership.  The incumbent is Rep. John Spratt, chairman of the House Budget Committee.  That alone should warrant his termination from Congress.  However, Spratt has been in Congress for nearly three decades and has plenty of powerful friends among special interest groups.  He won with 62% of the vote in 2008.  Mulvaney has run a great campaign thus far and managed to out raise Spratt in contributions from individuals in the recent quarter.  The district has supported McCain and Bush in Presidential elections but Spratt has the reputation of being the classic southern democrat that is moderate on fiscal and social issues.  Unfortunately, his performance and the performance of the Congress over the past two years will make it difficult for Spratt to maintain that image.  Congressional Quarterly currently rates the race as “leans democrat” but only because of Spratt’s long tenure.  Most other indicators suggest Spratt will be out of a job soon.