As congressional Republicans work to take health insurance away from 24 million Americans, Mick Mulvaney, our former congressman from South Carolina’s 5th District who resigned to become Donald Trump’s director of the Office of Management and Budget, “does not really understand how Obamacare works.” So it is vitally important that we replace Mulvaney with a Democrat. Fortunately, three strong Democrats have stepped up to the plate to fight for the 5th District: Archie Parnell, Alexis Frank, and Les Murphy. We are pleased to introduce them to you, and we’re looking forward to a substantive and engaging primary campaign that will produce a well-prepared nominee we will all unite behind. The primary is May 2 (with a voter registration deadline of April 2). If no candidate gets over 50% of the vote on May 2, there will be a runoff between the top 2 finishers on May 16. The general election is June 20.
Below, in random order, are introductions to each of the candidates provided by their campaigns. Get to know them, and if we all work hard in the primary and general election, one of them could soon represent the 5th District in the U.S. House!
Les Murphy
Les Murphy relates to the majority of South Carolinians in his everyday walk of life. He knows what it feels like to live check to check, he demands to have the best education for his children and he rallies for better treatment for all Veterans who have dutifully served for our citizens and our Country. Les Murphy, a disabled U.S. Marine Corps Veteran and his volunteer staff changes lives daily. With conviction and compassion, Les will be just as persistent to get things done for the people of South Carolina.
Born and raised in Madisonville, Kentucky, Les Murphy moved to Indian Land, SC in 2003. He then founded Carolina Veterans Commission (CVC), a Faith-Based, Veterans non-profit 501c (3) in 2007, which is headquartered in York County, SC. Mr. Murphy has a Bachelors of Science in Business Management from the University of Phoenix (2006) and a Masters of Business Management with an emphasis in Human Resources from Walden University (2009). Prior to founding CVC, Les worked with the Department of Homeland Security, Citizenship and Immigration in Charlotte, North Carolina. He has also served as a Work Force Investment Act (WIA) Case Manager in Lancaster, with the South Carolina Employment Security Commission before being hired on as a Human Resources Manager with Lowes Home Improvement, Indian Land and Rock Hill, South Carolina and Waxhaw and Matthews, North Carolina, a Fortune 50 company.
Mr. Murphy lives in Indian Land, SC, and has two children, Alaysha Murphy, currently attending U.S.C. Columbia, SC and Greylin Murphy. Les is a faithful member of Greater Works Church in Fort Mill, SC. His campaign website is www.lesmurphy.org.
Archie Parnell
Archie Parnell is a businessman and attorney, who was born into a South Carolina military family. He graduated from Sumter High School and USC before going to work at the Department of Justice and under the Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee. His government service was followed by a career in business, working for Fortune 500 companies
. Archie’s top priorities in Congress will be providing top notch constituent service, creating jobs, and reforming the tax code — and as a tax attorney, he will lead the fight so that Donald Trump release his tax returns like every president since Watergate has done. He will fight Trump tooth and nail when he is wrong for South Carolina families, and he will look for opportunities to invest in South Carolina’s infrastructure and create jobs. Archie fundamentally believes the race is about the voters in this district and there is a real opportunity to win if we all work together in our communities. Archie can’t do this alone — he’s asking residents to get involved in this campaign. There is too much is at stake for all of us, and turning the tide starts now.
Check out Archie’s announcement video and join the campaign today at ArchieParnell.com.
Alexis Frank
Alexis is a 26 year old veteran, South Carolina native, and mother of two with a bachelors degree in justice with concentration in law and legal process.
Her husband is an active duty Marine, her mother is a Rock Hill special education high school teacher, and her brother is an openly gay happily married teacher at Winthrop University. She is pro-education, pro-healthcare, pro-equal rights for all Americans, and pro-veterans.
She is looking forward to being a voice for all District 5 residents in Washington DC.
