James Smith skips Democratic debate for SC governor as Phil Noble, Marguerite Willis argue

A day after picking up two key endorsements for his campaign for South Carolina governor, Rep. James Smith skipped a televised debate at Furman University that his two Democratic rivals attended.

The Columbia lawmaker instead traveled to a Democrat gathering in Chicago, leaving Charleston consultant Phil Noble and Florence attorney Marguerite Willis to share the stage at Furman's Younts Conference Center for a televised debate.

Smith was endorsed Saturday by former Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Rep. James Clyburn, the senior member of the state's congressional delegation.

Biden said Smith was a "great friend" of his son, former Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, who died of cancer in 2015.

Smith “has the character, the courage and integrity to make a great governor for South Carolina," Joe Biden said in a video that was played before Clyburn introduced Smith at the Democratic state convention in Columbia.

Smith also has the biggest campaign war chest as the June 12 primary approaches. He raised $403,000 in the last quarter and has $622,000 in campaign cash on hand.

Willis has $542,000 in campaign cash on hand, and Noble has $59,000.

Although he has the least money, Noble is leading or tied for the lead with Smith in the Democratic race for governor, recnt polls show.

Sunday's debate happened one week after seven inmates died and 22 others were hurt in an outburst of gang violence at Lee Correctional Institution near Bishopville. The first question at the debate focused on problems with the state's prison system.

More:Death, violence in SC prisons: How Lee Correctional Institution puts gangs before safety

Willis said more correctional officers are needed at the Lee County prison in Bishopville, the state's largest maximum-security prison.

“If you don’t adequately staff your prisons, then you have a situation where the inmates are really running, so to speak, the asylum," she said. “We have underpaid the folks working in the prisons.”

Noble said the problems in South Carolina's prisons "are pretty typical of how state government has been operating.”

During the debate, Noble repeatedly questioned whether Willis' career as a corporate attorney makes her suitable to serve as governor. In his closing statement, Noble stressed his belief that an outsider is needed to fix "this broken, corrupt and dysfunctional government that we have in Columbia."

"It's not corporate lawyers. It's not lobbyists. It's not PACs. It's not special-interest groups. It's not those who have been running it into the ground today," he said. "We need new people with innovative ideas."

Willis said on multiple occasions that Noble was misinformed about issues discussed during the debate. And she offered no apologies for her profession.

“I am a corporate lawyer. I am proud of that because sometimes I sue corporations,” she said.

Willis, who is making her first run for elected office, is a Greenville native who said she would use the lessons that she learned about economic development in her hometown to help impoverished areas of South Carolina.

"I learned everything that I need to know about economic development right here," she said. "When I was a girl, I saw the textile industry leave this town. I saw people lose their jobs."

Willis said she also saw how Greenville and the Upstate rebounded by luring BMW and Michelin to the region.

"Greenville is a shining example of what can happen when the big industry leaves town and leaves people unemployed," she said. "I want to take that lesson and apply in other parts of the state.

"It is not OK with me to see children hungry. It is not OK with me to see failing schools," Willis said. "It is not OK to me to see people who have lost hope. That cannot happen in this state."

Follow Kirk Brown on Twitter @KirkBrown_AIM and email him at kirk.brown@independentmail.com