Clyburn says he will not endorse primary candidate [View All]

[Herman Munster]

http://www.thetandd.com/articles/2007/02/14/ap-state-sc/d8n9pa7o0.txt

COLUMBIA, S.C. - House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, one of the most powerful Democrats in South Carolina politics, will not endorse a presidential candidate during the 2008 primaries as part of a promise made months ago to party leaders. "I'm staying out of it," Clyburn told The Associated Press this week as several Democratic White House hopefuls prepared to visit his home state.

Clyburn did much of the arm twisting that landed South Carolina's January 2008 primary ahead of every other state except Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. "I used a lot of political capital keeping that primary in South Carolina when two other states went after that," Clyburn said. "I promised people at that time that if they were to come to South Carolina and participate in that primary I would not participate in any effort." He said he wanted to ensure all candidates "have a fair shot at winning the state."

An endorsement from the former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus and the state's senior member of Congress could carry a lot of weight in South Carolina, where 49 percent of primary voters are black. In 2004, Clyburn endorsed Dick Gephardt before his longtime colleague quit the race; he then backed John Kerry. Former Sen. John Edwards, a South Carolina native, won the state primary. "If he should endorse somebody and really gets on that person's side and works and stretches it out, it would be immensely helpful," said Don Fowler, a South Carolina native and former Democratic National Committee chairman. "He's the single most important person in South Carolina."

But Clyburn said an endorsement from him would do little to help a state party that's struggled to raise money and get candidates elected. Both chambers of the Legislature, the governor's office and two-thirds of the congressional delegation _ including both Senate seats _ are controlled by Republicans.