Human Events: South Carolina Sprint

"David Beasley is disliked and always underestimated by the political intelligentsia in South Carolina and Washington. But watch him: I say he leads in the primary, wins the run-off, and then wins the election."

So predicted a top national Republican operative at a lunch with two colleagues and me on June 3, five days before South Carolina GOPers took the first step toward selecting a nominee for the seat of retiring Democratic Sen. Ernest Hollings. Sure enough, he was on the money on the first part of his prediction: Controversial former Gov. (1994-98) Beasley topped three other heavyweight contenders last week with 36% of the vote. With voters to determine the nominee in a run-off between Beasley and Rep. Jim DeMint (the primary runner-up with 27%) in two weeks (June 22), their contest is more a sprint than a marathon and, therefore, the better-known Beasley is the strong favorite. (Rounding out the primary last week were Charleston developer Tom Ravenel with 15% of the vote and former State Attorney General (1998-2002) and '02 gubernatorial hopeful Charlie Condon at 14%.)

The winner of the run-off will almost surely face State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Inez Tenenbaum, who has so far raised more than $1.3 million. Democrat Tennenbaum's campaign website sparked a recent profile in the Washington Post because it featured an article that said, "Tennenbaum has been careful not to become too closely identified with the national Democratic Party or with the presidential campaign of Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry."

A decade after he last won office and six years after his defeat (he was one of only two GOP governors that year to be defeated for re-election), Beasley has taken the first step toward rebuilding his once-promising career. Nominated for governor at 37 over two better-known "establishment" Republicans and elected in a landslide in the fall of '94, the conservative Beasley appeared to have everything going for him. But his retreat from a campaign pledge to keep the Confederate battle flag flying above the Capitol Dome and his steadfast opposition to state gambling proved his undoing, and, in '98, he was ousted by Democrat Jim Hodges. Two years ago, however, the former governor achieved some measure of vindication when Hodges was defeated by Republican Mark Sanford, whose positions on the Confederate flag and gambling were not unlike those of Beasley.

After stints doing relief work for a church group on Bosnia and teaching at the John F. Kennedy School at Harvard, Beasley began laying the groundwork for a comeback. Like Richard Nixon after his defeat for governor of California in 1962, Beasley began hitting the "rubber chicken" circuit, freely discussing past errors, and securing support from old and new friends for a future race. His latest campaign was quarterbacked by veteran Columbia political consultant Richard Quinn, who has a long history of taking on the GOP establishment, and Beasley was no doubt given a pre-primary boost with an endorsement from Carroll Cambell, III-namesake-son of the former governor who is probably the most beloved figure among South Carolina Republicans (and who, like Ronald Reagan in his twilight years, could not go on the campaign trail himself and is seen increasingly less in public because of Alzheimer's Disease).

DeMint (lifetime American Conservative Union rating: 91 %) remains a conservative hero because he defied both President Bush (who had initially encouraged him to make the Senate bid) and the House Republican leadership by joining 27 of his GOP House colleagues in December in voting against the controversial prescription drug package. But given polls showing Beasley the second choice of most primary voters and DeMint's proBush free-trade stance (Beasley promises to convince President Bush "to re-evaluate our approach on trade"), it would be a major upset for the Greenville congressman to win the fast-approaching run-off.

Also in South Carolina: In the only open U.S. House district of the five in South Carolina, former Rep. (1992-98) Bob Inglis made the first stride toward a comeback of his own. In the 4th District (Greenville-Spartanburg) vacated by DeMint, stalwart conservative Inglis won the GOP nomination with 85% of the vote over three opponents. Inglis, who left the House in '98 to challenge Sen. Hollings, is a near-cinch to return to Congress in November. One of the first House members to make term limits a plank in his platform, Inglis honored his "three-terms-I'm-out" promise and supported close friend, DeMint (who made and honored the same pledge). In this race, however, Inglis made it clear he would not have any self-imposed limits on any new term in office.

Mr. Gizzi, political editor of HUMAN EVENTS,, welcomes political intelligence form subscribers on campaigns and issues at the local and state level. Though he cannot reply to all correspondents, we appreciate your contributions.

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