Democrat Krystle Matthews wins SC Senate primary runoff after calling for 'dope boy' campaign money

State Rep. Krystle Matthews won the South Carolina Democratic Senate runoff against author Catherine Fleming Bruce on Tuesday night after Bruce won the primary two weeks ago, 0.5% ahead of the Democratic lawmaker.

The Associated Press called the race in favor of Matthews, who won just over 55% of the vote with about 70% of ballots counted. The controversial nominee will go on to challenge Republican Sen. Tim Scott this fall. 

Matthews came under fire over the weekend after conservative activist group Project Veritas released leaked audio of her phone call with inmate David Solomon Ballard. During the conversation, she called for "secret sleepers," or Democrats running as Republicans. 

"When we get enough of us in there, we can wreak havoc for real from the inside out. Then we can flip some s*** from the inside out," she told him. 

The candidate also complained about campaign fundraising. 

"And I still gotta struggle to raise money for my campaign? Where the f*** is my black people with money? I don't care about no dope money! Give me that dope boy money," Matthews can be heard saying. 

She told The Associated Press that it was her voice on the tape, but it was edited in a manner that did not reflect the full conversation.

"That’s the problem, when you have a private conversation, where people don’t have any context," Matthews explained. "I am not advocating for any illegal activity in campaigns."

House Ethics officials said they could launch a probe over the Project Veritas audio, but Matthews said she was "not worried" about it.

Matthews is also running for reelection to a third term for her state House seat.

Bruce had expressed her commitment to codifying the right to an abortion into national law and her agenda includes progressive ideas such as climate and healthcare equality. Her governmental experience is limited.

"Serving as foreperson on the state grand jury that investigated corruption in the General Assembly, leading to indictments of several Republican lawmakers in 2016 and 2017, she lost a Columbia City Council race in 2019," the AP reported.

Scott will be difficult to beat as South Carolina has not elected a Democrat to a statewide position since 2006. The rising Republican star also raised $44 million for his reelection without a primary challenger. Together, Bruce and Matthews raised about $131,000 for their campaigns, according to federal fundraising data.