COLUMBIA --- Democrats are pushing populist values and centrist views in their bid to topple U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint.
Three Democrats are running for the $174,000-a-year job to replace the conservative incumbent from Greenville, whose six-year term expires at the beginning of 2011.
The Cook and the Rothenberg political reports, two Washington politics institutions that track and analyze campaign dynamics, say Mr. DeMint is in no danger of losing, listing the race as not competitive. Mr. DeMint is considered more consistently conservative than Sen. Lindsey Graham, who was re-elected last year.
Democratic challengers Chad McGowan, Mike Ruckes and Gary Stephens have never held public office, but among them Mr. McGowan's campaign is the most organized. All three say they would bring more moderate views to the Senate than Mr. DeMint.
Asked whether any of them posed a threat to Mr. DeMint, Joel Sawyer, the former spokesman for Gov. Mark Sanford, referred to Mr. McGowan.
"We don't think he'll get much traction against someone who has stood up for taxpayers as consistently as Jim DeMint," Mr. Sawyer said.
Dale Emmons, a political strategist and founder of Emmons & Co. in Kentucky, said an upset "would be a surprise, but it's certainly not an impossibility."
Mr. Emmons said Southern Democrats, including himself, are a very different breed from other Democrats.
And making that distinction clear to voters is crucial to dislodging Mr. DeMint, he said.
"They are oftentimes ... painted with a broad brush by their opponents as being something that they're not," he said. "We are not liberal Democrats. We're moderate Democrats, and if there ever was a time in America that we need moderate voices, it's right now. We've got voices on each side screaming at each other."
Reach Sarita Chourey at (803) 727-4257 or sarita.chourey@morris.com.
JIM DEMINT
AGE: 58
PERSONAL: Wife, Debbie; four children
HOME: Greenville
PROFESSION: U.S. senator, former businessman
EDUCATION: M.B.A., Clemson University, 1981; bachelor's degree, University of Tennessee, 1973.
THE PITCH: "When South Carolinians elected me to the U.S. Senate in 2004, I promised to fight for the principles of freedom that made America the greatest and most prosperous country in history. But politicians in both parties continue to support more spending, more debt, higher taxes and more government takeovers. This has brought our economy to its knees and cost millions of Americans their jobs.
"But the momentum is starting to shift, and freedom fighters are beginning to win some of the battles against big government and the assault on our freedom. We must redouble our efforts to rebuild our economy, create new jobs and ensure more opportunities for all Americans because freedom works.
WORTH NOTING: He first served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004. National Journal has rated him the most conservative senator. He recently attracted attention for saying that if he and other opponents of President Obama's health care reforms could defeat the effort, it would be Mr. Obama's "Waterloo" and would "break" the president.
CHAD MCGOWAN
AGE: 38
PERSONAL: Wife, Cassie; three children
HOME: Fort Mill
PROFESSION: Attorney for McGowan Hood & Felder
EDUCATION: Law degree, Emory University, 1995; bachelor's degree, Clemson University, 1992.
THE PITCH: "I am a very moderate, conservative Democrat. I think fiscal responsibility is something that's not just words to talk about but actions to live. We've seen the federal debt double in the last 12 years. A lot of people talk about being fiscally responsible in Washington, D.C., but the truth is they're not. ...
The working middle class of this state has nobody looking out for them in Washington. ... They don't have lobbyists; they don't have political action committees; they don't throw big Washington cocktail parties. ...
Not being a politician is exactly what we need at a time like this. I have no enemies to punish and no friends to reward. People can be reassured of my ability and integrity by my professional track record. That's been my life and career, representing families against some of the most powerful interests, and winning."
WORTH NOTING: Mr. McGowan clerked for U.S. District Court Judge G. Ross Anderson Jr.
MIKE RUCKES
AGE: 56
PERSONAL: Wife, Patricia
HOME: Summerville
PROFESSION: Retired auto worker
EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree, Madonna University, Livonia, Mich, 1992; associate degree, Henry Ford Community College, Dearborn, Mich.
THE PITCH: "I'm from the middle class. A middle-class background and those middle-class values that I aspire to are hard work, entrepreneurial ingenuity and educational achievements. I bring a national perspective to a national position. And I am a Democrat for the middle class. The issues of this campaign are the values of education, health care, and green renewable energy. But speaking to the middle, I will be able to win the election. People that have been raised all their lives in a certain area tend to think inside of the box. I bring out-of-the-box thinking to South Carolina."
WORTH NOTING: After working for the auto industry in Detroit for 33 years, spending six years at Chrysler as a member of the United Auto Workers and 27 years in management at Ford Motor Co., Mr. Ruckes moved to South Carolina in 2006 but said his outsider status is an advantage.
GARY STEPHENS
AGE: 60
PERSONAL: Unmarried
HOME: North Myrtle Beach
PROFESSION: Refused to answer
EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, 1972.
THE PITCH: "I intend to be honest. I intend to be a statesman. I will not be referred to, if elected, as a politician. In South Carolina right now and in 2010, party labels are not going to be all that important to the population ... The Democrat label in small towns? They don't give a flip. I'm talking about things that will help them. When you're 60 years old, you're not out there for fame and glory. You're out there to correct things. There is a tremendous amount of dishonesty on the federal level that started as much as 12 years ago. We have to have people there that can stand up and say, 'No, this is not what our country is all about.' It's about the fact that the states need to be given their rights, and the federal government needs to be clarified on what their rights are."
WORTH NOTING: Mr. Stephens is also running for mayor of North Myrtle Beach. He said if he won the mayoral election and a U.S. Senate seat, he would be positioned well to attach federal earmarks to benefit the Myrtle Beach area.
"I'd have a cell phone on my person at all times," he said.
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