Chambers, a Union native who has lived in Spartanburg County since the early 1970s, initially tried to run for Walker's seat as a Republican, but said Spartanburg County GOP boss Rick Beltram wouldn't let him.
"I called Beltram, and he said, 'That seat is not open. That seat is already taken by Bob Walker. Bob is working hard to keep that seat, and we don't need nobody to run against him. That seat is not open. ... You can't run for Bob Walker's seat.' So, I registered under the Democratic Party. They said they'd let me run for that seat," Chambers said.
Beltram called Chamber's story "a total lie."
But even Chambers holds no animosity toward Bob, he told the paper.
"I know Bob Walker - he is a good guy. He does got a lot of ideas. And I support what he has done, but I can do a better job, I believe," Chambers said. "I just need to get the people's trust to get me in there."
And on one controversial issue, Chambers took a firm stand.
When asked, Chambers said he would support tax credits for school choice. Controversial issues, from school district consolidation to cigarette taxes, should be put on the ballot and decided by referendum, he said.
"Longtime Republican running as Democrat - Mark Chambers: To go up against Walker"
Herald-Journal (Spartanburg, SC) - April 10, 2008
Bob responded to the primary challenge by scheduling a series of town hall meetings across his district, first in the small, old mill town of Chesnee to the east, then back in Landrum in early May.
On April 28, the Herald-Journal ran its first article identifying Joey Millwood for its readership. It called Millwood's challenge to Bob "a campaign battle of David-and-Goliath-like proportions," the political novice with a $500 budget challenging the veteran lawmaker with a $70,000 war chest. Millwood, it wrote, was knocking on doors and talking to voters on their front porches.
Millwood grew up in Whitney. He and his wife have lived in Landrum for about five years. He has one daughter, who is about 12 weeks old. He graduated from the University of South Carolina Upstate, where he wrote conservative columns for the school newspaper.
Though a first-time candidate, Millwood's campaign placard contains several messages that have been part of the South Carolina political dialogue for years.
It asserts the South Carolina state government has grown by 41 percent over the past three years, an almost verbatim reference to the way Gov. Mark Sanford introduced his version of the state budget this year. It also argues that a spending cap, tied to population growth and inflation, could eliminate the state income tax in the next 15 years - an issue Sanford campaigned on when he first won the race for governor in 2002.
While not attacking Bob directly, Millwood told the Herald-Journal he was "against big government" and said, "All I'll say is that I consider myself a strict conservative, who believes in less government, true tax reform and appointing conservative judges to the state bench."
That's a mantra that many conservative organizations could get behind - organizations such as the S.C. Club for Growth. The club took issue with several Spartanburg lawmakers last year when they named Judge Don Beatty to the S.C. Supreme Court. The club and other organizations classified Beatty as a liberal.
In a recent interview, the reporter in Millwood was clear, as he asked nearly as many questions as he answered. Often, he steered answers back to spending. On immigration reform, for instance, he would not discuss the pending legislation in Columbia, saying only that "any bill that helps with illegal immigration is a step in the right direction"
On school choice, Millwood said he would not support vouchers for parents who send their children to private school, but he would consider tax credits. It's competition, the free market at work, which would help create better schools, he said.
Millwood told the paper that he didn't "feel like I grew up in the best of schools, and I would have appreciated an option."
When the paper asked Bob about vouchers and tax credits, he opposed them. It seemed to be the brightest division between the two candidates.
Walker, 65, said he does not favor vouchers, and he hasn't supported any of the tax-credit proposals he's seen so far.
"I'm for choice as for what the parents feel like they need to do best," Walker said. "But I'm not for taking the taxpayers' money that's allocated to go to the public school system and give it to someone else."
Walker also highlighted work he's done to support private schools, charter schools, home-schooling and virtual schools.
"Walker's war chest not fazing Millwood - Challenger: Promises to rein in state spending"
Herald-Journal (Spartanburg, SC) - April 28, 2008
Two weeks later, both men appeared at a Republican candidates forum at Ron's Hog Pen BBQ. Even the Herald-Journal reporter who covered the meeting had difficulty finding much conflict between the various candidates for their offices on issues.
For some of the topics, many of the answers were predictable - no one opposed putting a cap on state spending, for instance, and no one outright opposed requiring private employers to use a federal database to verify that their employees are legal residents of the United States - though some talked around it.
Because of so many similar positions, the night was best served by being able to judge which candidates could think on their feet, who seemed the most passionate about different issues, who was the most informed about the issues affecting this state, and who could best handle themselves in front of a crowd. That's not to say there were no differences - just that, in some cases, those differences were just as much about poise as they were about positions.
House incumbent Bob Walker played up a stipulation he added to the immigration reform bill in Columbia that would prevent children here illegally from getting state scholarships.
Walker's challenger, Joey Millwood , got a burst of cheers when, after agreeing with Walker that the state government needs to be less involved in higher education, he suggested that part of the problem with rising tuition costs was overpaid "liberal professors."
For incumbents, the night was a chance to highlight their records. For challengers, it was a chance to try to prove their opponents disingenuous or, a favorite of the night, in the pocket of special interest groups.
"Light barbs on cue at GOP debate"
Herald-Journal (Spartanburg, SC) - May 13, 2008
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