She is a graduate of Clemson and paid her own way through. She has the ability to invest substantially in her own campaign. “She’s very, very intelligent… It’s nice to have a female in the race,” says Leupp. Pierce is trying to appeal to female voters. But she is a first-time candidate with little name recognition and must “develop name ID in a short window, a disadvantage,” says Felkel. Pierce has been married for 25 years and has two grown sons.