Meet Daniel Duncan, running for South Carolina House of Representatives, District 14
Daniel has lived in Laurens County, South Carolina for 16 years. He started out running the local waffle house in his community for 4 years. Since then, Daniel has been working as a truck driver for over 10 years!
Here’s why Daniel decided to run for a representative position: Daniel attended his first county party meeting this year. When he met all of the people there, he realized that those people deserve someone who is going to represent them well. He told us that he is the third person in around two decades to run for the Democratic seat in his county—this is what motivates him to try to become a voice for the people in his district. We learned that when the new district map was drawn, it included many rural voters and factory workers. Daniel, being a hard worker his whole life, knows that he would represent the values of these people and understand what they need. He knows what it feels like to work so hard so hard that you miss out on family time yet still struggle to get by.
Some of the biggest issues Daniel sees in his community begin with a lack of access to medicaid. He told us that his state has constantly rejected medicaid expansion and that many working people cannot see a doctor. Because of this, many people will have untreated medical issues that get worse over time. This issue hits close to home for Daniel. His own father recently had a medical issue that went untreated due to lack of healthcare access and long work hours which led to him becoming permanently disabled. Aside from that, there is a huge amount of teachers in this district that are underpaid. Daniel was a substitute teacher for a brief period of time himself so he understands how physically and mentally demanding teaching jobs are. Many teachers in his state feel as if the pay is not worth the job and because of that there is a teacher shortage. He even told us that about 30-40% of teachers in his community are not qualified for their position.
On top of that, the roads in Daniel’s district desperately need repairs. Many of their roads are full of potholes and extreme weather conditions cause more and more every year. Since Daniel is a truck driver, he knows just how dangerous these potholes are when trucks and cars have to swerve around them to avoid car damage. Their roads are funded by a gas tax that disproportionately affects the poorest people who commute the most to work and have lower mileage cars. Daniel wants to fix roads and make taxation fair for working people.
Since there are many natural resources in this district, many companies move their production to South Carolina. Daniel told us that there isn’t much union protection in his district and some of the companies try to exploit their workers. He aims to get these workers fair pay, respect, and the benefits that they deserve. Overall, Daniel wants to improve people’s living conditions and to make sure they aren’t stressed about bills, medical bankruptcy, or their children not getting a proper education.
Something unique about Daniel’s life is that he lives near a lot of natural land and many dogs wander onto his property and get adopted into his family. Between him and his family members, they have 8 dogs living with them! His wife was on the animal control board so they have a close connection with many of these pets who they are always trying to help. Daniel and his wife are also season ticket holders for the Greenville Triumph Soccer Club and have been with the team since the very beginning!