PI is working to confirm reports of chatter circulating around Columbia that State Representative Justin Bamberg may be creating an exploratory committee this August to gauge his options for a potential gubernatorial run in 2018. According to our sources, Bamberg has become increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress and action by current Columbia leaders, and is seriously considering a run to bring “new ideas” and a “fresh perspective” to South Carolina’s challenges. We have also received tips that Bamberg is scheduled to meet with one of SC’s most prominent Democratic operatives in the coming days about his prospective run.
The lawyer and second term state Representative for Bamberg, Barnwell, and Colleton counties, has continued to garner national notoriety since his decision to switch his presidential endorsement from Hillary Clinton to Bernie Sanders in 2015. He has also earned national acclaim as one of the best and brightest civil rights attorneys in the nation after being hired to represent families in a string of very high profile cases including; the Walter Scott case, the Alton Sterling case in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and the Keith Scott case in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Bamberg, who is just 30 years old, has amassed a great deal of success and respect during his short time in the SC House of Representatives, and most recently for his work in helping to bring an emergency facility to Barnwell and Bamberg counties. His actions could finally spark the beginning of the 2018 Gubernatorial Campaign for SC Democrats.
We will continue to monitor this story…