Campaign will push children's issues in primaries

A nonprofit children's advocacy group launched a campaign Thursday in South Carolina to push children's issues as a priority of policy debate in the 2008 presidential campaign primary.

The Every Child Matters campaign will work with groups around the state to elevate the visibility of children's needs for the primary, said Angela Madnick, a spokeswoman for the campaign.

South Carolina is expected to hold Democratic and Republican primaries Jan. 29 and Feb. 2, respectively. Every Child Matters doesn't rate or endorse candidates.

"There is a tremendous need on behalf of kids that needs to be voiced," Madnick said.

The campaign will work with Voices for South Carolina's Children to get the candidates talking about issues related to children. Madnick said their push will be to get candidates on the record early about their positions and even to compete about what would be best.

Many candidates have positions on children's issues but don't think about making it a central part of their platform, Madnick said. The campaign encourages candidates to talk about those ideas because many people aside from parents and grandparents care, she said.

Every Child Matters will be conducting and releasing polls, working with statewide coalitions of children's organization and volunteers, holding forums with candidates, running ads and surveying candidates.

They released the results of their first telephone survey of randomly selected 800 registered South Carolina voters who said they were likely to vote in the presidential primaries.

The poll showed 98 percent of Democrats and 91 percent of Republicans want presidential candidates to provide a comprehensive agenda on what they would do to meet children and families' needs.

The poll also showed that 98 percent of Democrats and 90 percent of Republicans say issues of child well-being are important in making their voting decisions.

Reach Diette Courrégé at 937-5546 or dcourrege@postand courier.com.