COLUMBIA - The chairman of the S.C. Democratic Party says the party is close to having the $500,000 it needs to hold its presidential primary Feb. 3.

But he won't release figures, and state law doesn't require him to, nor does it require him to report who's giving the money.

"The big corporations that I've called on to help us succeed in putting on this primary, when I've made my pitch, I tell them that for now, the amount they can contribute is unlimited, and it does not have to be disclosed," party chairman Joe Erwin said.

That all will change after next November's elections, when an election reform law passed earlier this year by the S.C. legislature goes into effect. Presently, political parties in the state only are required to report the money they spend to directly aid candidates.

South Carolina is one of only three states -- Texas and Utah are the others -- that require political parties to pay for their presidential primaries.

The S.C. Democratic primary is the third presidential contest in the nation next year after Iowa and New Hampshire. It's the first in a state with a significant black population, and political experts say it will play a big role in determining which of the nine Democratic candidates gets the nomination.

Though the contest is drawing national attention, with candidates beginning to drop in on the state every few days, the Democratic Party within South Carolina is at a historic low ebb. For the first time since the post-Civil War Reconstruction era, Republicans now control both houses of the legislature, the governor's mansion and all but three statewide offices.

At the beginning of May, the Democrats were almost $80,000 in debt, with just enough money in the bank to keep their state headquarters open for four months.

"I'm busting my butt six days a week on raising money," said Erwin, a Greenville advertising executive who was elected party chairman in May. "It's hard, hard work."

Seven weeks ago, Erwin said he had about $220,000 in gifts and pledges, but that about half that would be needed just to make payroll and keep the headquarters open.

Friday, he said he isn't being so specific anymore because "I don't want anybody in my camp getting complacent. ... We're going to raise money aggressively, and I can't afford to let people feel that the job is done until Feb. 4."

Erwin also said he is being secretive because of the fun that S.C. Republicans are having spreading doubts about whether the primary will come off.

"We know that the Republicans are saying we're broke and we can't raise money and all," Erwin said. "I'm not going to tell them exactly where we stand. Let them think whatever they want."

He said, "Do we have the money in the bank? No, but we're close. We've got pledges, but I've learned that you don't count the pledges until they're checks that have cleared."

Other Democratic Party sources say Erwin has told them the same thing.

Erwin's predecessor, Dick Harpootlian, said, "I've walked through all this with the folks over at the party. They've got the money. They're going to be fine."

John Moylan, the S.C. campaign chairman for U.S. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, who considers South Carolina a must-win state for him, said he isn't worried.

"I don't think the party has any choice," Moylan said. "South Carolina is going to be in the national spotlight, and I think the party will come through.

"Conversations I've had with folks in the party lead me to believe that they're going to be in a position to do that."