Republican speaks out after defeating Obama-backed opponent to win mayoral election in South Carolina

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Republican defeats Obama-backed candidate to win mayoral election in South Carolina

Columbia, South Carolina mayor-elect Daniel Rickenmann discusses his election win and how Republicans may fare in the 2022 midterms.

GOP momentum continues to build ahead of the 2022 midterms after a Republican mayoral candidate in South Carolina defeated his Obama-backed opponent. 

Columbia, S.C. mayor-elect Daniel Rickenmann told "Fox & Friends First" on Tuesday that he and his team won by going "back to the basics" and focusing on issues that affected his constituents’ everyday lives, such as roads, taxes, and crime, as opposed to national politics.  

Rickenmann defeated his Democratic opponent Tameika Isaac-Devine by 4 points in a county that President Biden won by 38.3% in the 2020 election. 

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"I think people are very concerned about where they are today and their lives and their businesses and they voted with their pocketbooks," said Rickenmann, citing high taxes, rising fuel, and grocery prices, as well as supply chain issues.  

Shipping containers are seen at the container terminal of the port of Oakland, California, U.S., October 28, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Barria (REUTERS/Carlos Barria)

Speaking on the 2022 midterms, Rickenmann said Republicans should be "excited" but also need to make sure the "tent" is big enough to include Democrats and Independents who are worried about the direction of the country.

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He noted that recent Democrat losses should convey to everybody that listening to the people that put elected officials in office is paramount. 

"We need to make sure that when we’re reaching out to people, we’re reaching out to everybody," Rickenmann added. 

According to a new ABC News/Washington Post poll, if the midterm elections were held today, the majority of registered voters say they’d support the Republican congressional candidate over the Democratic candidate in their districts, giving Republicans the largest statistical edge in four decades.

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The survey, which was taken after the Democrats passed their $1.2 trillion bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act earlier this month, shows 51% of registered voters saying they’d support the Republican candidate in their congressional district and only 41% saying they'd support the Democrat, spelling trouble for the party trying to secure its razor-thin majorities in Congress.

Fox News' Jessica Chasmar contributed to this report.