High schoolers host only debate for this SC congressional seat

LEXINGTON — South Carolina’s longest-serving Republican in Congress and the Democrat trying to unseat him met Monday for their only debate — not before a ticketed primetime TV audience but in a high school auditorium, answering questions written and asked by students.

The mid-day debate between Rep. Joe Wilson, who’s represented the 2nd District for almost 25 years, and Democrat Zyon Khalifa was organized by students in Lexington One school district’s Center for Law and Global Policy Development.

“It’s important for them to be a part of the political process, to engage in civil discourse, and to learn to value multiple perspectives,” Michael Burgess, one of the program’s three teachers, told the SC Daily Gazette. “They are a part of this election, and they can take that and show people that, hey, you can have disagreements without being disagreeable.”

It was Wilson’s fifth election cycle participating in a student-led debate at River Bluff High, the largest high school in his home county. Since 2016, it’s also hosted the only 2nd District debate.

While located at River Bluff High, the program is open to all juniors and seniors throughout the school district. The audience also included students in other high school government classes, as well as supporters of each candidate. Other pre-election political events hosted at the center include a U.S. Senate candidate forum ahead of the GOP special primary in August, and a forum for local school board candidates last month.

As for students’ questions for Wilson and Khalifa, topics included the war with Iran and federal funding.

The audience heard some clear policy differences between the 79-year-old congressman and 25-year-old first-time candidate.

Asked about the death penalty, Wilson said he supports existing laws on capital punishment, and they should continue to be enforced.

In South Carolina, there have been seven executions since September 2024, when they resumed following an unintended 13-year hiatus. The last federal execution was in January 2021. The question seemed to reference the U.S. military’s announced-then-canceled livestreaming of a firing squad execution Dec. 3, though the student didn’t specify.

Khalifa, a recent law school graduate, said he opposes the death penalty. Mistakes in the judicial system can and have been made, he said, adding that “death is something you cannot turn back.”

A question on immigration saw some agreement. Both candidates said the border should be secure.

But they disagreed on Trump’s deportation initiatives. Wilson praised them. Khalifa said Congress should fund more immigration judges and ensure there’s due process for people living in the U.S. illegally who the government is trying to deport.

The candidates also sparred over political polarization.

Wilson blamed today’s extreme political divide on “Trump derangement syndrome,” a phrase coined during President Donald Trump’s first term to describe people consumed by their hatred of him.

Khalifa said Wilson contributed to the divide 17 years ago when he yelled “You lie!” during President Barack Obama’s September 2009 healthcare address to a joint session of Congress. Kahlifa called the then-unprecedented outburst one of the “biggest moments in our political history which created polarization.” Wilson apologized to Obama immediately after the speech.

The debate Monday coincided with the first day of early voting in South Carolina, which continues through Oct. 31. Election Day is Nov. 3.

For some students in the audience, the midterms mark the first general election they’re eligible to vote.

“I’m 18 and I’m going to be a voter,” said Bianca Moncrieffe, a student in Lexington One’s Law and Global Policy program. “It’s really nice to be able to hear the candidates that are going up for election and understanding their perspectives and hearing how they’re responding to the questions.”

An hour after the debate, Democrats in other statewide races in South Carolina held a news conference at the state Democratic Party headquarters in Columbia complaining about the lack of debates this election cycle.

Khalifa, who lives in Aiken County, said his team offered Wilson about a dozen potential dates for debates, but Wilson’s team agreed only to the one at River Bluff High.

“I feel like they don’t want people to see it,” Khalifa said.

In response, Wilson said he’s not avoiding debate. “I am in a debate every election because it’s the people’s office,” he said about the 2nd District, which covers all of Lexington, Aiken and Barnwell counties and parts of Richland and Orangeburg counties. “I don’t use the term ‘my’ office.”

He said the location is special to him partly because when he was in high school, the young Republicans club he was a member of wasn’t allowed to meet in school. “Now you can have political discussion,” he said.

Khalifa said he hopes the takeaway for students in the audience is that the contest is “bigger than party.”

It meant a lot to hear from students telling him they appreciate that he’s running, he said: “It’s time for change.”

A Democrat last represented the 2nd District in 1965, when Rep. Albert Watson resigned, then ran successfully as a Republican to fulfill the rest of his term.

Voters first sent Wilson to Congress in a 2001 special election following the death of U.S. Rep. Floyd Spence. He won re-election in 2024 by 19 percentage points.