While Indian immigrants have found success
here, many longtime residents have struggled. Bamberg’s last textile mill closed
in 2020, after holding out longer than others in the area. In their place? Not
much. One of Bamberg’s largest employers was Oak and Barrel, a whiskey barrel
manufacturing facility that employed 40 people—and
planned to hire another 80—before a tornado last month temporarily shuttered it. Schools and fast-food
restaurants employ many; many others commute an hour and a half to the capital
of Columbia. “In Bamberg, people
get educated, they get a job and they move somewhere else,” said Sharon Carter, the chair of the Bamberg County GOP.
It’s
those kind of economic conditions—and, let’s be honest, the intolerant views of
a fair number of people living in those conditions—that helped give rise to
Trump nearly a decade ago. Rob Patel, despite Trump’s relentless attack on
immigrants, can see his political appeal. “I understand why people support Trump,” he said. “If
you had a plumbing business and your son was a good plumber but you hired
someone else, the son would say, ‘Why not me?’ That’s how people feel about
immigrants in this country, I think.”
It
might not be obvious while driving around Bamberg County, but Haley has her
supporters—like Carter, who also sits on the state GOP committee and is running
for office herself (the state Senate). “She’s as regular American as you can
get,” said Carter, who was two years ahead of Haley in grade school. “Without Trump,
she would be the ideal candidate, no question.”