Paul Gable
Former Coastal Carolina University football coach David Bennett announced Wednesday afternoon that he would not be a candidate for the new S.C. 7th Congressional District seat. As the clock wound down toward zero hour for filing, all things did not fall in line for a Bennett candidacy.
Bennett said in a phone conversation this morning with Jeffery Sewell of SC Hotline that the whole family needed to be on board with the decision. Bennett said the talk was still ongoing, but his wife was holding out against running.
“My wife told me she believes my place is not in Washington politics,” Bennett said. “You’re a coach, not a congressman she told me.”
Other family considerations included uprooting his son, Jeb, a sophomore in high school and a disrupting move by the rest of the family.
Bennett did acknowledge the lure of politics.
“I’m very humbled that I was asked by people I respect to consider running for the seat,” Bennett said. “I know a lot of people are hurting in the country and Congress is in a stalemate and not getting the job done. I do believe we need a new direction in the Congress, but it’s not time for me to try and be part of it.”
Bennett’s possible entry into the race stirred up local politicos for over a week. The general thinking is that Bennett would have been one of the leading candidates in the race because of his name recognition and close personal ties throughout the new voting district.
However, Bennett put family considerations ahead of personal temptation. This is just another example that the strength of David Bennett’s appeal in both his professional and personal life is his honesty, integrity and willingness to stand with his convictions regardless of the temptation, even that of national office.
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This news as we have already reported and have witnessed the feedback will disappoint many. Coach Bennett is widely respected, and I was left in little doubt that if his inner circle, his family was on board he was all in. Much respect is due to the coach for not only the way he has handled the CCU situation but also the public’s desire to see him enter this race, Vee and I were certainly of the latter and hopeful but at the end of the day and as the coach told me earlier, this would be a family matter. God blesses that sentiment and thanks you coach for your consideration, of that we are certain.
Tom Rice would have eaten his lunch.
Please! What planet do you live on, Frank?
Trillion Dollar Tom Rice has nowhere near the respect that David Bennett has in Horry County and the other areas of our district. Nor does he have anywhere near as much integrity. He doesn’t even command the respect and support of most of Horry County Council. His only accomplishment prior to running to chair that body was the economically disastrous Take Back May social engineering program, which is now being looked at carefully by the feds, along with other self-serving manipulations of the local economy for personal gain by members of the “Myrtle Beach Mafia”/MBACC/GSBA, in the ongoing IRS/FBI RICO probe.
Debating skills? He has none that are discernable. Besides that, he sucks on the stump and has a charisma factor that is on the minus side. He’s so bad as a candidate that now Randal Wallace – once widely seen as a stalking horse for the MBM who would fold on cue at some point and turn his support to Rice – is now looked upon as an actual serous candidate who may end up besting their main guy and becoming their only hope to win the nomination for them. Does that plan have the stink of desperation about it, or what?
The real guys to beat are Bauer and Prosser.
God help us all.
Boz-Has Paul served you the Cool Aid? Tom Rice won by an impressive margin County wide and has done more for Horry County in a year than Prosser has done in a decade. City and County get along better than they have in years. Tom has raised three times the money and will win by a respectable margin. Prosser? Please tell me you are kidding. Without his daddy, he would be flipping burgers at McDs. Bauer? He moved into the district to run and never accomplished a thing in office. No contest.