The South Carolina Working Families Party held a statewide nominating convention on May 10. For the first time, it nominated a candidate for statewide office, Michael Cone for U.S. Senate. It also nominated three candidates for state house, and one for county office.

South Carolina is the third state in which the Working Families Party has ever made a nomination for statewide office. The other two are New York and Massachusetts. The party is also ballot-qualified in Delaware and Oregon but has not yet made any statewide nominations in those states, although it may this year. It will go off the ballot in Oregon if it doesn’t run anyone for statewide office this year.

Michael Cone is also seeking the Democratic Party nomination for U.S. Senate in South Carolina (South Carolina lets two parties jointly nominate the same person). However, he has an opponent for that nomination, Bob Conley. If Cone loses the Democratic primary, he will be free either to continue running solely as the Working Families nominee, or to withdraw. Incumbent Republican Senator Lindsey Graham is running for re-election and is likely to win the seat again in 2008.