COLUMBIA - Florence Mayor Frank Willis knew he’d get a lot of attention at the South Carolina Democratic Party Convention on Saturday, but he was content to let another Democrat have the limelight.

Willis announced two weeks ago that he was considering a run for governor, but that he wouldn’t decide for sure until early May. Willis knew State Sen. Tommy Moore would make his announcement Saturday, and he was going out of his way not to steal any thunder from the candidate.

“This is Tommy Moore’s day, and I assured him I wasn’t going to make any announcements today,” Willis said.

Indeed, Moore officially announced his candidacy amid a sea of green and blue placards promoting his campaign. But Moore’s announcement seemed to only fuel speculation about other candidates who might join the fight to try to unseat Republican Gov. Mark Sanford in November. Reporters, other politicians and delegates made it a point to take the time to stop Willis and talk to him about what his intentions are. Willis would only say he’s still thinking about it.

“Right now I’m just trying to get around the state and meet people, find out what people think the main issues are, what they’re concerned about,” Willis said to a group of reporters from around the state.

Willis, who has only run for one public office in his career, said he’s also discovering that it will take much money to run a campaign.

Click here to order pictures Morning News senior writer Andy Cole went to the state Democratic gather in Columbia with Florence Mayor Frank Willis, a potential candidate for governor. Hear some of what was said: Joe Irwin, state party chairman, on GOP support for the Democratic nominee Frank Willis on possible GOP support for his candidacy Frank Willis on being mayor Frank Willis on making his decision to run Frank Willis on bringing fresh ideas to Columbia Frank Willis on fundraising Frank Willis on the primary Frank Willis on Tommy Moore's candidacy

“Since this is my first effort at something like this, I’m not real sure how much,” he said, “But what I’m being told is you’re going to have to raise a million (dollars) plus for the primary, maybe $2 million. I’ve heard numbers anywhere from $5 million to $7 million for the primary and the general election.”

Willis said raising that kind of money is a little intimidating, but he said he’s been encouraged by talks he’s had with political leaders from around the state, including several Republicans he would not name.

“It’s frightening,” Willis said of the fund-raising. “You know, it doesn’t seem to bother other people, they just throw those numbers out.”

Willis and his wife, Marguerite, made the rounds of the convention, not pushing themselves on anyone, but making sure they took the time to answer questions, especially those from delegates. Willis said he still has some learning to do before he officially announces his candidacy.

“I was stopped by one of the delegates this morning, and she was talking to me about Medicare and Medicaid,” Willis said. “You know as a mayor that’s not something I have to deal with, so I have to learn a lot about it before I’m ready to announce, because once you announce, everyone expects you to know everything there is to know about all the issues.” Besides his wife, Willis also was getting much help from his old college fraternity brother Jimmy Truesdale, who browsed through the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center with Willis on Saturday. Asked if he was going to be supporting Willis financially, Truesdale joked about their college days.

“Actually, I told Frank I wasn’t going to give him a contribution, but he was going to have to pay me to keep quiet about our time in college,” Truesdale said.

Both Willis and Moore say they’re encouraged about the Democratic Party’s chances to win back the governor’s office because of run-ins Sanford has had with members of his own party in the legislature. In fact, most party officials stressed the divisiveness in the party, saying their are Republicans ready to support a Democrat in order to get Sanford out of office.

“I don’t know how openly they’ll do it, but if you talk to Republicans privately about this governor, they know and I know that a lot of Republicans are incredibly frustrated and disappointed at the failures of Mark Sanford,” S.C. Democratic Party Chairman Joe Erwin said. “Most good Republicans understand the importance of public education, this governor does not, and I think you’re going to see some Republicans, either quietly or overtly supporting our candidate.”

Who that candidate will be is impossible to say right now. And with a year and a half of campaigning and only one candidate officially in the race, there is much speculation about who else will jump in.

One rumor generating much conversation at the convention was that Mike Hollings, the son of former U.S. Sen. Fritz Hollings is going to throw his hat into the ring. Erwin was quick to point out that it’s a rumor, but he said he welcomes a large field of candidates in the primary.

“There’s a passion for taking this governor out of office,” Erwin said. “There’s a lot of people who think they could beat him, and if they think they can beat him, and they want to run, then God bless them. We really welcome as many people who want to look at that race as possible.”

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