| Hollings' future stays murky Longtime senator has yet to decide on 2004 run U.S. Sen. Fritz Hollings of South Carolina was locked behind closed doors Tuesday, eagerly scribbling down notes for a speech later that day on free trade and the country's economy, his spokesman said. It's a scenario the plain-spoken 81-year-old Democrat has surely duplicated countless times during his 37-year Senate career. Now, with his seventh term coming to an end in 2004, no one - not even he - is sure how much longer he'll be at it. "He is undecided to this point," said his spokesman, Andy Davis. "He hasn't really indicated a timeline." The senator declined through Mr. Davis to be interviewed on the topic. Others, including the growing line of candidates eager to take his place, are more willing. If he leaves office, the state will lose its second Washington heavyweight in two years. Sen. Strom Thurmond, the nation's longest-serving senator ever, retired earlier this year and was replaced by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who would become South Carolina's senior senator with only two years of experience if Mr. Hollings retired. With Mr. Thurmond's retirement, Mr. Hollings became the Senate's fourth-most senior member, a position that comes with significant clout. Mr. Hollings serves as the ranking member on the Senate's Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee and is the longest-serving member of the Budget Committee. He has fought poverty and hunger, which were rampant in the South early in his career. He embarked on a hunger-awareness tour in 1968 and wrote a book, The Case Against Hunger: A Demand for a National Policy, in 1970. In 1972, he wrote the National Coastal Zone Management Act, aimed at protecting the country's coastal areas, including his home turf in Charleston. More recently, he helped write the 1996 Telecommunications Act, which promotes fair competition in the industry. Despite his lengthy and accomplished career, Mr. Hollings could be out even if he runs, some political experts say. The Republican Party's recent wave of success in the state - the party controls the governor's office and the state House and Senate - has left its faithful confident that they can steal the seat. "It would be an extremely difficult race for Fritz," said Dan Carter, a political history professor at the University of South Carolina. GOP leaders said they are ready for any scenario. "We obviously will aggressively campaign for that seat," said Luke Byars, the executive director of the South Carolina Republican Party. "Other than the presidential election, that will be our top ticket race. "We're planning to run against him until we hear otherwise." Republicans who have announced their candidacy include former South Carolina Attorney General Charlie Condon, U.S. Rep. Jim DeMint, Charleston businessman Thomas Ravenel and Myrtle Beach Mayor Mark McBride. Democrats, meanwhile, have remained mostly mum. Only State Superintendent of Education Inez Tenenbaum has formally announced interest in running, said Joe Erwin, the chairman of the state Democratic Party, although he said he has spoken with six other candidates who are also interested but are waiting for Mr. Hollings to decide. Mr. Erwin said he would allow Mr. Hollings "to make his decision on his own timetable, but at the same time gear up for a campaign with or without Fritz." "I'd really like to know by early fall," he said. Mr. Erwin said the political dominance that Republicans are enjoying could bring about that party's downfall. "We believe that South Carolina voters are beginning to look at what happens when the state becomes a one-party state," he said. "We've got collision in Columbia where nothing gets done. At the federal level, you've got the same thing." Republicans at the national level are taking interest in Mr. Hollings' seat, too, targeting it along with the seats of Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., and Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., as the best opportunities to unseat Democrats in the South, said Bill Moore, a political science professor at the College of Charleston. Nothing is certain, though. "If Iraq is not going well in another year, we very well could have a reaction to that," Dr. Moore said. "Women are less supportive of military action, and they make up more than half the voters in the state." Whenever Mr. Hollings does hang up his hat, Dr. Carter said, the Senate will have lost a unique individual. "He's willing to speak his mind and say what he thinks. That's very rare," the professor said. "Losing that kind of voice in the Senate would be unfortunate." Reach Josh Gelinas at (803) 279-6895 or josh.gelinas@augustachronicle.com.
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