āI feel like we've significantly made our city better; now, it's time to pass the baton.āBenjamin was elected in 2010 as Columbia's first Black mayor.
As for higher office, Benjamin ā South Carolinaās 2002 Democratic attorney general nominee, beaten in that contest by now-Gov.
AdAs was witnessed in Jaime Harrison's unsuccessful 2020 challenge of Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Democratic challenger winning a statewide office in South Carolina ā where all such offices are in GOP hands ā remains an uphill climb.
When asked if that had factored into his decision-making, Benjamin said the outcome had no effect on his ultimate decision.
Even out of elected office, Benjamin will likely continue to play an outsized role in the Democratic politics of South Carolina, particularly in the state's first-in-the-South presidential primary.