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Candidates › SC-04 race › 2025–2026
Courtney McClain
D Democratic nominee for U.S. House, SC-04
Has not served in Congress
- On the ballot
- Lost the general electionNov 3, 2026 · 95,663 votes (44.2%) · 2 of 3
- Where to vote
- Find your polling place (opens in a new tab) · More ways to vote
- Top priorities
- Tackling the Housing Crisis
- Our Health, Our Fight
- Bringing Down the Cost of Living
- Stronger Schools for Every Student
- Fair Wages and Opportunity
- Money
- $130.7K raised, $79.6K spent, $50.5K cash on hand (through Oct 14, 2026). Where it comes from
- Who gives
- 100% of individual money from donors at $200 or less · largest committee giver MARCH ON PAC, $5K
11 priorities from mcclainforsc.com, in the order they are listed there. Every heading and the text under it is copied exactly, as one passage for each page it is from, and links to that place on the page; hover a source to see which passage it opens.
Across the Upstate, families are being priced out of their neighborhoods. Evictions and foreclosures are up. Corporate investors buy up homes while young families can’t even get started. Rent is up, and access to affordable housing is down.
Courtney has a real plan to:
- Restrict corporate landlords and private equity firms from buying up single-family homes and removing the tax advantages that large corporate buyers currently have over individual homebuyers.
- Pass a national tenants’ protection act to cap rent hikes, expand the right to counsel in housing court, and ban no-cause evictions.
- Repurpose vacant or abandoned buildings, such as warehouses or schools, into safe and secure affordable homes/complexes
- Keep Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac public and oppose turning them over to private companies.
- Increase funding to the Federal Home Loan Banks to help more people find fair and affordable housing.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · mcclainforsc.com/issues/issue-1
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Residents here in Spartanburg and Greenville are skipping doctors’ appointments, cutting pills in half, and putting off care because it just costs too much. That’s not right.
Big insurance companies keep jacking up prices on basic healthcare while families across the Upstate are left to scrape by. It’s time they’re held accountable. That means making sure healthcare is a right, not a luxury.
Courtney has a real plan to:
- Fully fund the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and increase subsidies so families can afford lower monthly premiums.
- Expand Medicare and support Medicare for All to replace private insurance companies and ensure all South Carolinians have guaranteed healthcare coverage.
- Expand mobile health services to serve disabled, senior, veteran, and homeless populations with sliding-scale services.
- Extend coverage to dental, vision, and reproductive healthcare
- Fiercely advocate to increase access to safe and affordable contraceptives and decrease the number of contraceptive deserts.
- Oppose the dangerous restrictions placed on women's right to choose by ensuring equal and safe access to reproductive care within South Carolina and across the U.S.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · mcclainforsc.com/issues/issue-2
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Unemployment, the price of gas, and groceries are up across the Upstate. Trump Tariffs have raised the cost of imported goods, and many of those costs are getting passed to U.S. consumers.
Hard-working families are feeling the weight of broken promises of a better economy. But Courtney has a real plan to:
- Ban the use of dynamic pricing for groceries, rent, and necessities, and regulate when companies can change their prices to restore the need for competitive pricing and help the consumer
- Push back against the nonsense Trump Tariffs that are increasing the prices of everyday goods and harming hard-working Americans' ability to afford necessary items.
- Break up food and energy monopolies and increase access to more affordable goods for everyday families in GSP
- Expand and increase the value of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for workers without children in their homes so that it includes low-income young workers and older workers without dependent children in their homes.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · mcclainforsc.com/issues/your-issue-title-hereee
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Here in Spartanburg and Greenville, too many teachers are stretched thin and underpaid, classrooms are packed tighter than they should be, and some of our kids are sitting in class wondering if they’ll have food waiting at home.
Courtney is fighting to make sure every student has the support, resources, and strong foundation they need to succeed.
- Establish a national teacher pay incentive program with state and local matching to increase teacher salaries.
- Fully fund the childcare voucher program and increase the pay of childcare workers.
- Pass legislation establishing a universal free meal program that guarantees free school breakfasts and lunches to all children in need, regardless of family income.
- Increase Title I funding and expand federal support for low-income schools to ensure equity in education regardless of zip code.
- End predatory loans and private for-profit institutions to ensure affordable college for anyone who wants to further their education, and increase funding to Pell grants and financial aid for those in need.
- Boost funding to the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), to help low-income families afford child care as well as Head Start and Early Head Start.
- Advocate to safeguard the rights of students with disabilities and fight to reinstate funding to the Special Education Office
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · mcclainforsc.com/issues/your-issue-title-here
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District Four residents have been forced to take up multiple jobs, and thousands have lost their jobs due to the Trump-DOGE mass layoffs. The wealthy few have continued to get richer, while everyday Americans live paycheck to paycheck.
But Courtney has a real plan to:
- Protect and expand Social Security
- Enact fair scheduling laws that help create predictable schedules and incomes for hourly workers.
- Work to secure federal appropriations for workforce development and job training programs that bring high-paying jobs back to Greenville and Spartanburg
- End the tipped minimum wage and raise the federal minimum wage to a family-sustaining level that increases annually with the cost of living.
- Establish industry-wide standards for job quality, including a process for establishing a wage and benefit floor.
- Fully fund the IRS and empower staff to hold the rich who cut corners accountable.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · mcclainforsc.com/issues/fair-wages-and-opportunity
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Small businesses are the backbone of District 4. We must prioritize and invest in locally owned businesses that reflect and serve our diverse community, rather than giving tax breaks to corporations that lack a true understanding of how everyday customers strengthen and sustain the neighborhoods they call home.
But Courtney has a real plan to:
- Eliminate red tape by introducing legislation to increase the allowable deduction for business start-up expenses, or offer a tax credit, so new enterprises face fewer financial hurdles when launching.
- Introduce legislation to protect small businesses from external cost shocks, such as the Trump tariffs and supply chain disruptions, and establish a refund program for costs incurred when these shocks occur.
- Offer tax credits for small businesses that provide predictable scheduling and benefits.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · mcclainforsc.com/issues/small-businesses
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Gun violence remains the number one cause of death for youth in South Carolina, and yet legislators are pushing to make gun access easier. At-risk youth and young adults should have access to prevention programs rather than being villainized. We must also ensure transparency between law enforcement and the communities they serve.
But Courtney has a real plan to:
- Closing the Charleston loophole and passing comprehensive legislation requiring universal background checks, secure storage, ghost gun regulation, and crime gun tracing to decrease suicides and homicides in South Carolina and nationwide.
- Invest in preventive programs for at-risk youth who have been expelled from school to curb access to activities or behaviors that lead to the prison pipeline
- Develop comprehensive reentry programs that support the successful transition of formerly incarcerated youth back into their communities
- Implement diversion programs that provide alternatives to incarceration for individuals with mental health or substance abuse issues.
- Pass legislation that increases accountability for law enforcement misconduct, enhances transparency and data collection, and establishes best practices and training requirements for police officers with a national non-voluntary database that is available to the public.
- Divest from and end the private-for-profit system, and invest in public jails and prisons to better serve the incarcerated population.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · mcclainforsc.com/issues/your-issue-title-hereeee
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Millions of voters are at risk of losing the power of their vote because members of the GOP and the Trump administration want to stay in power. Fair elections mean counting every vote equally, regardless of party, race, or gender.
- End precinct closures without notice by requiring that voters be notified at least 72 hours in advance if their polling place is closed or changed.
- Overturn Citizens United, ban corporate PACs, and end big money corruption by creating a system of public campaign financing so voters, not billionaires, decide elections.
- Guarantee accessibility at every polling place with adequate parking, working equipment such as rolling poll booths for curbside voting, and no structural barriers such as steep steps or extended walks.
- Protect mail-in voting by restoring the Postal Service and replacing partisan appointees who have gutted its capacity, and ensure that absentee ballots are delivered and counted.
- Ban voter purges based on inactivity
- Enact automatic voter registration when you turn 18 or if you’re eligible when you interact with the DMV or other state agencies.
- End the practice of partisan gerrymandering and mandate that states draw districts in a way that prioritizes equal population representation, regardless of party, to ensure competition.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · mcclainforsc.com/issues/your-issue-title-hereeeeee
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Courtney’s family has served this country since World War I. She has seen the struggles that many of our veterans are facing today: layoffs, defunding of vital programs, and the prioritization of profit over people.
But Courtney has a real plan to:
- Support legislation reinstating veterans unjustly terminated from federal jobs under the Trump-era mass layoffs, ensuring they regain employment, benefits, and dignity.
- Fight back against efforts to privatize or cut Veterans Affairs services.
- Protect and expand HUD-VASH vouchers to combat veteran homelessness, and increase investment in VA healthcare.
- Expand and secure funding for the Veterans Crisis Line and integrate mental health services into primary VA care.
- Co-sponsor a War Powers Resolution to end Trump's abuse of the military for personal gain and restore Congress’s constitutional authority.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · mcclainforsc.com/issues/your-issue-title-here6
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The most vulnerable in our society have been attacked and taken advantage of. International calls for justice have touched every corner of the globe. Our elected officials have the power to help those in need, and in Congress, I will use that power to support these communities.
But Courtney has a real plan to:
- Aid those suffering from homelessness by guaranteeing low-income housing and pair housing with wraparound services: mental health care, addiction treatment, job training, and education.
- Co-sponsor The Equality Act and invest in programs designed to safeguard at-risk queer youth and young adults
- End detention and deportation as a default by investing in housing, legal support, and integration and divesting from private prison contracts.
- Ensure dignity and due process by increasing funding to the immigration court system to ensure counsel for all, especially children and asylum-seekers.
- Join the list of 140+ countries that recognize Palestinian statehood, push for an arms embargo on Israel and international accountability for a permanent ceasefire, and vital humanitarian aid into Gaza
- Fight to repeal the travel bans placed on 38 countries
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · mcclainforsc.com/issues/your-issue-title-here8
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The Greenville metro area recently surpassed the 1 million resident milestone, and Spartanburg ranks as the third-fastest growing metro area nationwide. Our rapid growth has outpaced our infrastructure, causing traffic congestion, higher bills, and worn down roads.
But Courtney has a real plan to:
- Increase federal funding to invest in public transit and infrastructure for city bus riders, pedestrians, and cyclists as alternatives to driving to decrease traffic congestion.
- Invest in flood resilience and stormwater upgrades to protect homes and farmland from future natural disasters
- Increase federal funding to invest in upgraded electrical grid infrastructure to ease the current overload and bring down energy costs.
- Introduce a moratorium on building new AI data centers, and pass legislation to require operating centers to pay fully for their environmental impact to the community, cost to the power grid, and for any new infrastructure needed to power them.
- Expand Public Transit Coverage to underserved areas by partnering with employers and schools in these areas to promote new routes connecting more residents to jobs, schools, and medical care.
- Require for-profit power companies to invest a percentage of their profits into improving the power grid for customers.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · mcclainforsc.com/issues/your-issue-title-heree