Dr. Gloria Bromell Tinubu announces candidacy for US Senate
May 1, 2019
Economist, CEO, former college professor and public servant Dr. Gloria Bromell Tinubu is excited to formally announce her candidacy for the United States Senate for the State of South Carolina. Dr. Tinubu made her primary announcement at the 7th Annual Day in Blue event, sponsored by the SC Democratic Legislative Women’s Caucus. Subsequent announcements were made in both Charleston and Georgetown, South Carolina. Featured guests at each announcement included Eunice “Tootsie” Holland in Columbia, Dr. Ade Ofunniyin in Charleston, and Rev. Dr. Betty Deas Clark in Georgetown.
“Most of the economic challenges facing our families are rooted in our systems of work and wealth which favor some at the expense of others. From the founding of this country, these systems have not lived up to the ideals of ‘liberty and justice for all’ and have resulted in poverty for many, unrealized freedom for most, and environmental degradation for all. I’m running for the US Senate so that I and my generation can pass on a brighter torch to our children, grandchildren, and future generations that ensures their economic freedom,” stated Dr. Tinubu.
Dr. Tinubu goes on to say that “our country is at a pivotal crossroads in its history and the choice is not between capitalism and socialism, the choice is between free market capitalism and monopoly capitalism. This country was founded on monopoly capitalism and its economy continues to be dominated by it. Monopoly capitalism, with its associated concentration of economic power, is the root cause of much of the country’s economic, social, and environmental problems.”
Dr. Tinubu entered politics in the state of Georgia when she was elected to the Atlanta City Council in 1993 and later became a candidate for Atlanta mayor. Dr. Tinubu was appointed by Governor Roy Barnes to the Georgia Board of Education in the early 2000s, and she continued to serve upon her election to the Georgia General Assembly (HD-60) as a Democrat.
After a move back to her home state of South Carolina in 2011 to teach in the College of Business Administration at Coastal Carolina University, Dr. Tinubu ran for the Democratic nomination of the newly created 7th congressional district. Despite the numerous political endorsements backing her opposition, Dr. Tinubu ultimately succeeded in securing the nomination with 73% of the votes. In 2018, Dr. Tinubu was selected by Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Phil Noble to be his Lt. Governor running mate.
During her professional career, Dr. Tinubu was a tenured professor of economics at Spelman College in Atlanta where she also served as chair of the department. She became the founder and CEO of Atlanta Cooperative Development Corporation and president of Barber–Scotia College, a historically Black college in North Carolina. More recently, she served as Economic Development Director for the City of Georgetown, and she is currently CEO of a company that serves as the state administrator for a national entrepreneurial training program in both South Carolina and Georgia.
Dr. Tinubu is a South Carolina native and a graduate of Howard University, where she earned a BA in Fine Arts, and Clemson University, where she was the first African-American woman to earn an MS in Agricultural Economics. Dr. Tinubu then became the first African-American to earn her Ph. D. in Applied Economics. She has been married to Soji Tinubu, a civil engineer and a graduate of Clemson University, for 42 years, and together they are parents to four adult children and grandparents of five.
