In a video announcement, Beasley, the first African-American female to serve as chief justice on the state Supreme Court, focused on opportunity. “No door should ever be closed to you. With hard work and determination, you can accomplish anything,” she said in the video. “There are times when people tell you that you can’t do something. And really it has more to do with the confinement of their own ability to see it.” Beasley is the fifth Democrat to jump in the race, joining former state Sen. Erica Smith, current state Sen. Jeff Jackson, virologist Richard Watkins, and Beaufort Mayor Rett Newton in the field.