CHARLESTON, S.C. — Pennsylvania State Representative Malcolm Kenyatta said a reporter recently asked him if a campaign based on democracy will be enough to get voters to reelect President Joe Biden.
“What I said to this reporter was: ‘Our democracy is the foundation for everything else that matters in our lives,’” Kenyatta said. “We are the greatest … nation in the world because we are a place that trusts each other to make decisions about who's going to represent us and about what those priorities are going to be once they get elected.”
Kenyatta spoke at the Charleston County Democratic Party headquarters where the CCDP hosted a phone banking event Jan. 6 with local volunteers — calling registered democrats to remind them of the upcoming South Carolina democratic presidential primary Feb. 3 — the first democratic primary in the nation. The South Carolina Republican primary is Feb. 24 — the third Republican primary following New Hampshire and Nevada.
Pennsylvania state Representative Malcolm Kenyatta speaks about the Biden-Harris re-election campaign and the anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection inside the Charleston County Democratic Party headquarters in Charleston, S.C. on Jan. 6.
Lisa Izzo volunteered for the event and said she has been volunteering for Biden for the past three years. Izzo is the admin for the South Carolina Women for Biden-Harris, which is part of a national organization involved in outreach and advocacy for the Biden administration.
She said she works for the campaign to fight for freedom, especially for her daughter.
“I have a 22-year-old daughter. She has less rights than I grew up with, and that makes me very sad,” Izzo said. “That's why I'm doing this for her and for her future family, her children and all the generations to come.”
Kenyatta also noted the importance of volunteering for the Biden-Harris campaign on Jan. 6, the third anniversary of the riot at the Capitol in 2021.
“We're gathering on a pretty solemn day. Just three years ago, a lot of folks — inspired by lies — showed up armed with weapons,” Kenyatta said. “Folks died as they attacked our citadel of democracy — our U.S. Capitol — because they didn't like the result of the election.”
Izzo and Kenyatta reflected the sentiments Biden shared in his 2024 campaign kickoff Jan. 5 near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
“We must be clear,” Biden said at the rally. “Democracy is on the ballot. Your freedom is on the ballot.”