COLUMBIA, S.C. -- A Democrat running for governor says South Carolina should remove the Confederate flag from the Statehouse grounds if it wants to grow its economy.
Charleston lawyer Mullins McLeod says the Confederate flag debate continues to hold the state back and the state can't compete economically in the face of those old arguments.
The flag at a monument to Confederate war dead at the Capitol already has been a topic in the 2010 race. Republican candidates in their first debate in September closed the door to removing the banner.
McLeod says removing the flag would tell the world the state is ready to make progress.
McLeod's economic plans also call for middle class and business tax breaks that include more deductions for starting a small business.
