An endorsement from Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., so entices Democratic presidential candidates that you might think Clyburn himself gets to vote 100,000 times in the Feb. 3 South Carolina primary.

Since Clyburn’s first endorsement became moot with Dick Gephardt’s fall in the Iowa caucuses Monday, every one of the remaining seven campaigns has called to court him.

And so many reporters have bombarded the Columbia congressman with questions about whom he would endorse next, he decided to hold a teleconference with them.

Scores of reporters Wednesday — from ABC News to The New York Times to The (Sumter) Item to Black Entertainment Television — waited on the line for Clyburn to even hint at which candidate he will favor.

They know an endorsement from the most powerful black politician in a state where up to half of primary voters are black will mean something.

The answer from the 63-year-old Clyburn, vice chairman of the House Democratic Caucus: I might not endorse at all.

“I may, but I may not ... I’m not leaning toward anybody at this point in time. If I did, it would be after the (Jan. 27) New Hampshire primary.”

So what if the vice chairman of the House Democratic Caucus endorses? What if he doesn’t? What does it matter?

Endorsements often don’t matter, but that’s not the case with Clyburn, said Neal Thigpen, a political science professor at Francis Marion University.

In a general election, most voters already have strong opinions before they read about a newspaper’s or politician’s endorsement. But with a primary, especially one as surprising and fluid as this year’s Democratic presidential primaries, he said, an endorsement such as Clyburn’s can carry tremendous weight.

And the South Carolina primary — so early in the process and the first in the South — could be the make-or-break contest for many of the candidates.

“Things are happening so fast, and there are so many candidates,” Thigpen said. “Voters get confused and want some guidance.”

For those who still believe that one man’s opinion won’t mean much Feb. 3, consider a bit of research from the Gephardt campaign.

Aiken native Bill Carrick, who was a media adviser to Gephardt, said the campaign’s pollster asked 600 likely S.C. Democratic voters in December how Clyburn’s endorsement would affect their opinions of Gephardt.

Sixty-five percent said they would be more likely to vote for Gephardt, 30 percent said it would make no difference, and 5 percent said it would make them less likely.

“We said, ‘Wow!’ Those are good numbers,” Carrick said.

But how does Clyburn move voters toward the candidate of his choice?

He has no big-city style Democratic machine like the one that controlled Chicago or Boston, said Dick Harpootlian, former chairman of the S.C. Democratic Party.

“There’s no machine here. His endorsement gives credibility. It works the same as it does for the Republicans. Let me put it this way: When (former S.C. Gov.) Carroll Campbell endorsed Bush, it was auto-call machines and mailings with Campbell’s endorsement on it all over the state.”

Clyburn denies heading up any sort of electoral army.

“I do not have an organization,” he said. “I do have the power to network ... I spend a lot of time with beauticians and barbers and other working men and women. To the extent they trust me, I may have some influence with them.”

Of course, Clyburn’s is not the only endorsement that matters in South Carolina.

All the presidential candidates also have called U.S. Rep. John Spratt, the state’s only other Democratic member of the House. Spratt has served there for nearly 25 years, commanding respect as the ranking Democrat on the Budget Committee. He also had endorsed Gephardt.

“He is keeping his options open; no endorsement is expected soon,” Spratt spokesman Chuck Fant said.

And what about the most senior of all South Carolina Democrats, U.S. Sen. Fritz Hollings?

Hollings is sticking with his earlier decision not to endorse a candidate before the voters choose a Democratic nominee, Hollings spokeswoman Ilene Zeldin said.

Reach Markoe at (202) 383-6023 or lmarkoe@krwashington.com.