COLUMBIA, S.C. - House Speaker David Wilkins said Tuesday that putting more black judges on the bench in South Carolina will take time, but popular elections of judges would only make the problem worse.

"I think the absolute worst reaction would be to go to popular elections," said Wilkins, R-Greenville. Unless the state's 16 judicial circuits were substantially changed, "I think you'd have less African-Americans on the bench by popular election."

On Feb. 2, nearly all of the 32 Legislative Black Caucus members walked out of the judicial elections in the Legislature to protest the defeat of two black candidates being considered. Seven of the 112 judges elected by the Legislature are black.

At the time, caucus chairman Rep. David Mack said the Legislature "looks at race first and that's a problem."

On Tuesday, the Charleston Democrat said race was less of an issue than the attitudes and relationships that often determine who wins judgeships. "I don't look at the members that I serve with as being racists," Mack said.

Long-term relationships are a big factor in who gets elected, he said. Mack also said he has little desire to field conservative black judges that may hold more appeal to Republicans who control the Legislature and the outcome of the elections.

The Black Caucus continues to look to the possibility of popular elections for judges as one option. "We have not made that commitment yet. All options are on the table," Mack said during a news conference sponsored by South Carolina ETV and the South Carolina Press Association.

Wilkins said popular elections are "an overreaction."

House Speaker Pro Tem Doug Smith, R-Spartanburg, said efforts to elect black judges need to take on a longer-range focus, not just the next set of elections.

Wilkins said he'll work with caucus members on the issue and hopes to see more black judges elected.

"It's going to be incremental, in my opinion. It's not going to be a wholesale change in the law. But we need to be more sensitive," Wilkins said.