Though his drum set is now packed away and he no longer sings in public, DeMint says his opponent in Tuesday's GOP primary, former Gov. David Beasley "plays the same sour note" on trade as outgoing Democratic Sen. Ernest "Fritz" Hollings, one of the Senate's most ardent protectionists.

"The United States needs to expand trade to create jobs at home and needs more trade deals with other nations to guarantee fair trade," DeMint said in a telephone interview, noting that free trade is the core of his Senate campaign.

Still, DeMint concedes that his stance on trade may be bad politics in South Carolina.

"I believe that free trade, as advocated by President Reagan and Republican Party principles, is good policy," DeMint said. "We'll find out next week if it is also good politics."

Asked how he wants South Carolina's voters to see him, DeMint said: "As a very optimistic, solution-oriented person with a focus on the future who wants to lead by motivation, not by scaring people.

"This primary campaign is a real battleground for the heart and soul of the Republican Party," he said. "If I lose, we return to isolationism."

DeMint said he stands for a smaller federal government, with reduced taxes and spending, and less regulation, making it clear he would be among the Senate's more conservative members.

Those are the principles that compelled him, he said, to enter GOP politics in 1998 after building a career in Greenville in marketing and advertising. "I realized we needed to run government more like a business," he said.

In three terms in the U.S. House, DeMint served on the transportation, small business and education committees. He takes credit for inserting a health savings provision into the Medicare prescription drug plan.

His voting record established him as one of the most conservative House Republicans. The National Journal rated him as 0 percent liberal, 91 percent conservative on key economic votes; 0 percent liberal, 75 percent conservative on social issues.

His schedule was like many junior members of the House. He spent Tuesday through Thursday on Capitol Hill, the weekends in his Upcountry district. Little known outside his district, he has spent millions on advertising to promote his cause, especially in Columbia and along the coast.

With his wife, Debbie, remaining in South Carolina, studying for a career as a social worker, and their four children, now ages 19-26 in school or working, DeMint resided during the congressional session in Washington.

He shared a Capitol Hill townhouse with Republican Sens. Sam Brownback of Kansas and John Ensign of Nevada. Campaign spokeswoman Kara Borie said DeMint relaxed by working out in the House gym, jogging, listening to oldies and light rock music, and reading.

On the job, DeMint advocated less government spending, although he said one of his accomplishments was increasing the percentage of federal dollars sent to South Carolina for highway construction from 56 percent to 90 percent of the amount paid in taxes at South Carolina's gasoline pumps.

Though a budget cutter, DeMint said he would leave decisions on closing military bases to the Pentagon. He said he would work to transform the U.S. Department of Education into primarily an agency for promoting good ideas generated by the states and said "the jury's out" on whether there should be a U.S. Department of Energy.

Nuclear waste should be moved from storage sites in South Carolina to Yucca Mountain, Nev., or another federal facility, he said.

Club for Growth

Many of DeMint's economic ideas reflect the Club for Growth, a Washington-based political action group that has set out this year to replace Republican moderates with conservatives.

DeMint's district was once a world leader in textile production. But most of that is gone now. DeMint says the textile industry's replacement by plants of BMW, Honda, Michelin, Fuji and other multinationals gives credence to his contention that the United States would gain more than it loses through expanded open trade.

However, DeMint also insisted that major trade legislation pushed by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas, R-Calif., included protection for the textile industry by requiring that Caribbean textiles be dyed and finished in the United States.

As he seeks votes from Christian conservatives who make up a sizable portion of South Carolina's GOP base, DeMint points to his opposition to legalized abortion, and his advocacy in Congress for a $10,000 tax credit for adoption.

He opposes embryonic stem cell research that many Democrats and some Republicans in Congress see as advancing cures toward Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, spinal cord injuries, and other conditions.

He also notes that he has solid links to Bob Jones University in Greenville. In 2000, DeMint accompanied candidate George W. Bush to the school, which identifies itself as a bastion of the "old-time religion." That controversial trip helped Bush defeat Sen. John McCain of Arizona for the Republican presidential primary.

DeMint makes it a point every week to provide the university's radio station with a report of congressional activities.

As for the Iraq war, DeMint voted for it. In the interview, he said he wants Bush to pursue present U.S. policy. "We have no choice but to establish a democratic government in Iraq, though it won't be easy and it will be worse before it gets better," he said.

As for reports that U.S. military personnel abused Iraqi prisoners in Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad, DeMint said it was "very unfortunate. We have to find out where the system failed, and find out who was responsible, even if that means going all the way to the top."