JOHNSTON, S.C. --- Shane Massey held the cellular phone high in his right hand.

At that moment, he said, the device was no longer merely his personal line. It was now a direct pipeline to his constituents.

"It is now the District 25 constituent hot line," Mr. Massey, the newly elected 32-year-old state senator from Edgefield, told a gathering of about 200 people Thursday afternoon at his swearing-in ceremony in the auditorium of his alma mater, Strom Thurmond High School. "I'm here to help you. If you have a problem with the state or anything else that you think I can help with, call me."

Mr. Massey gave the number out several times before the evening ended. Thursday's ceremony stood as an official celebration after a draining three months spent on the campaign trail.

Mr. Massey outlasted six other Republican candidates in September's party primary. He then went head-to-head with Republican candidate Bill Hixon in an October runoff after no clear majority was captured in the primary race. Mr. Massey won that election also, setting up a showdown for former Sen. Tommy Moore's unexpired term with well-known Democrat Bill Clyburn.

Mr. Massey won after a mandatory recount after provisional votes narrowed his margin of victory over Mr. Clyburn to less than 1 percent.

"Now we set our sights on going to Columbia ... to start shaking things up," Mr. Massey told the crowd. "Listen, I know that I'm young -- the naysayers reminded me almost daily -- but I'm not naive. I know I can't go to Columbia and single-handedly change the world. But I can do the hard work to build coalitions, spread the message and get the ball rolling."

During his speech, Mr. Massey talked about many of his campaign promises -- helping end political "grandstanding" in favor of direct work on specific problems such as wasteful spending, illegal immigration and the need to improve education.

"My to-do list is long, but my passion is high," he said. "I'm ready to work hard for you."