Columbia, SC – Today, ONE launches the “ONE Vote 2012” campaign in South Carolina to engage directly with candidates, their staff and voters about the importance of maintaining American leadership in the battle to alleviate extreme poverty and preventable disease.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders will manage the effort and Palmetto State co-chairs former Governor David Beasley and former Attorney General Henry McMaster will lead a local committee of Ambassadors. The local committee features prominent conservative voices including: President and CEO of the Palmetto Family Council, Oran Smith, former Superintendent Barbara Nielsen, and other political and community leaders (see complete list of ambassadors below).

“It isn’t possible to put a price tag on life. But when we do look at the bottom line, we see our assistance has saved millions of lives, each one precious, for less than one percent of the budget,” said President and CEO of the Palmetto Family Council, Oran Smith. “We have also seen that respect for life leads to democracy, stability and economic growth. Life. Elected governments. Free Enterprise. These are among our most precious values.”

The Ambassadors will work throughout the primary seasons with South Carolina’s ONE team, and the state’s more than 12,000 ONE members, to raise the profile of issues that affect the world’s poorest people. Through the 2012 election, ONE will ask those seeking to be president to support programs that address critical needs in developing countries.  Specifically, the ONE Vote 2012 platform encourages policies that will continue to support life-saving programs and promote the long-term health and economic progress of people in the world’s poorest places.

“ONE had a successful operation in South Carolina back in 2008 working with the presidential candidates, to incorporate plans to address extreme poverty in their platforms,” said ONE Vote 2012 Campaign Manager Sarah Huckabee Sanders. “This January, the eyes of the nation will be back on South Carolina and we are asking local communities to stand up to preserve the less than 1% of the budget that saves the lives of those surviving on less than $1.25 a day.”

ONE Vote 2012 co-chairs Beasley and McMaster will collaborate with the state ambassadors to ensure candidates are aware of strategic, cost-effective ways the next president can continue to help the most vulnerable among us help themselves. They will advise the ONE team on best ways to reach more South Carolina voters, speak on behalf of the organization, and urge this year’s Republican presidential hopefuls to help protect programs that provide childhood vaccines, treatments that prevent the transmission of HIV from mother-to-child and teach advanced farming techniques that help families feed and support themselves.

To learn more about ONE Vote 2012 in South Carolina please visit the ONE Vote website or email South Carolina Field Organizers Charlie Harris ([email protected]) and Zach Lamb ([email protected].)

ONE Vote 2012 Co-chairs:

• The Honorable David Beasley, former Governor of South Carolina
• The Honorable Henry McMaster, former Attorney General of South Carolina

ONE Vote 2012 Ambassadors:

• The Honorable Weston Adams, former US Ambassador to Malawi, Reagan Appointee
• Dr. Alice Burmeister, Associate Dean, College of Visual and Performing Arts, Winthrop University
• Edward Cousar, Second Vice-Chair, South Carolina Republican Party
• Timothy Ervolina, President, United Way Association of South Carolina
• Reverend Wendy Hudson-Jacoby, Pastor, North Charleston United Methodist Church
• Narcie Jeter, Director, Winthrop Wesley Foundation in Rock Hill
• Christy McMillin-Goodwin, Oakland Baptist Church in Rock Hill
• The Honorable Barbara Nielsen, former State Superintendent of Education
• Reverend Len Ripley, Midland Park United Methodist Church
• The Honorable Robert Royall, former US Ambassador to Tanzania, George W. Bush Appointee
• The Honorable James Smith, Captain, South Carolina Army National Guard and veteran, Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan)
• Dr. Oran Smith, President and CEO of the Palmetto Family Council
• Bryan Stirling, Deputy Attorney General, South Carolina Attorney General’s Office
• Trey Walker, Director, State Government Relations, University of South Carolina
• The Honorable Joe Wilson, U.S. Representative (R, SC-2)

MEDIA NOTE: For more information or to request interviews with ambassadors, please contact Hannah Schwartz at [email protected] or 202-957-3149.