| Moore goes full force against underdog AIKEN - The South Carolina Republican Party might have been better served by staying off Democratic state Sen. Tommy Moore's turf. But the GOP went out of its way to put up a candidate against him in the Nov. 2 election, and now it seems it woke a sleeping beast. The Clearwater senator is being challenged by Bernie Hamby, who has six years of experience as a McCormick County councilman versus Mr. Moore's 24 years in the state Senate. Mr. Moore's political full-court press is nothing out of the ordinary, the incumbent insists. "When the game is on, the game is on," he said. "It's the competitive juices in me." Mr. Hamby readily admits his underdog status. "Twenty-five years' experience gives you a pretty good start," he said. He wasn't even in the race when the April filing deadline came and went. The state Republican Party had to scramble to find a replacement candidate after Susan Swanson dropped out. After five weeks of searching, it picked Mr. Hamby. The move drew Mr. Moore's ire at the time. Now it seems to have lit his fire. Though he could rest on the power of incumbency, Mr. Moore has set up a full array of roadside billboards and glossy handouts that convey a subtle but powerful message. In addition to his picture and name, they simply say "our senator." Mr. Moore is maintaining his presence in the district, which encompasses parts of Aiken, Edgefield, Saluda and McCormick counties. He stepped up as a defender of McCormick's John de la Howe School, which Republican Gov. Mark Sanford wanted to ax last year. He has even arranged for a special committee that will deliberate on the school's fate to hold its first hearing Thursday at the school instead of in Columbia. He also helped the McCormick County Library move into a new building by lobbying for $15,000 in federal funding. "This isn't about the Republican Party or anyone else," Mr. Moore said. "This is about letting the constituents know how much I appreciate them and that we're not taking anything for granted." The senator isn't one for partisan politics. He doesn't mention his allegiance to the Democratic Party on campaign literature. He supports gun rights and is against abortion, positions out of step with his party but in step with his constituents. His independent lean has even attracted a band of Republicans to his corner. Some are so excited that talk of Mr. Moore's run for higher office has resurfaced. "I think he'd make a fine governor, really," said Eleanor Weatherford, a Republican. "Who knows what the future holds?" But Mr. Moore, who failed to make it past the Democratic primary when he ran for former U.S. Rep. Butler Derrick's seat in 1994, plays down the idea. "I'm very appreciative and humbled that people toss my name out there, but there is no other commitment right now but to be a state senator," he said. The South Carolina Republican Party views Mr. Moore's campaigning as an act of desperation. He doesn't mention the Democratic Party, Executive Director Luke Byars said, because he doesn't want to be affiliated with its presidential nominee, U.S. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts. "We're confident Bernie is able to connect with a lot of voters who Tommy has ignored," Mr. Byars said. "I think Tommy has a real problem." To Mr. Hamby's credit, he's staying scrappy. One of his main targets is a proposed cigarette tax increase Mr. Moore unsuccessfully pitched the past two years in hopes of filling the state budget gaps that measured in the hundreds of millions. The McCormick resident, who lived in Mr. Moore's hometown of Clearwater and in Edgefield County before moving to Modoc, says he favors a streamlined government over a tax increase. "More money is not necessarily the answer to all our problems," Mr. Hamby said. Mr. Moore counters that "less money is not the answer" either. Mr. Hamby says he's in a "win-win" situation. Even if he loses, he said, his campaign has prompted Mr. Moore to do more in the community. "It's tickled me to see him spending so much money," Mr. Hamby said. "This little country boy's got him on the move."
Reach Josh Gelinas at (803) 648-1395, ext. 113, or josh.gelinas@augustachronicle.com.
|