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SUNDAY EDITORIAL

The issue ~ Sen. Hutto as Democratic candidate for higher office

Our opinion ~ Orangeburg lawmaker the type of candidate

who could have broad appeal

S.C. Democrats should look to likes of Hutto

Six years ago, South Carolina Democrats had reason to celebrate. November election victories had secured the Governor's Mansion for the first time since Dick Riley in the mid-'80s.

The win came less than three years after the death of veteran Orangeburg Democratic Sen. Marshall B. Williams, which led to the beginning of elected political life for Orangeburg attorney Brad Hutto. In special races and then again in the general election of 1996, Hutto proved he could win as a Democrat in a district that affords a Republican at least a reasonable opportunity.

Hutto quickly became a presence in the state Senate, seemingly bypassing the power vacuum that can afflict so many new lawmakers in a chamber dominated by seniority. His presence on the Senate Judiciary Committee after one term remains a powerful appointment.

The lawmaker's rise had some talking about him as a statewide candidate by 1998, but it was Jim Hodges, a Lancaster lawmaker, who became the Democratic hopeful for governor when Charleston's Joe Riley opted out of another race for the office.

A unique combination of GOP backlash against one-term GOP Gov. David Beasley, plus powerful opposition from those angered by Beasley positions on the Confederate flag and video poker, resulted in a Hodges win. The Democrats began talking again of return to prominence in a state long trending Republican.

It all came crashing down four years later when Hodges failed to win re-election, both houses of the Legislature were majority-Republican and all but three statewide offices were in Republican hands. Couple the 2004 loss of the U.S. Senate seat long held by veteran Fritz Hollings and the Democrats again find themselves looking for electable leaders.

If the state's biggest Democratic names — Congressmen James Clyburn and John Spratt — opt as expected for no statewide race, and if Superintendent of Education Inez Tenenbaum wants no part of a statewide race after the unsuccessful run for Hollings' seat, where do Democrats turn?

It should be to the likes of the Orangeburg senator.

While Brad Hutto might well decide to do as other senators of South Carolina history and be content to hold a powerful position in the upper chamber, there should be those in the party who see possibilities.

Hutto has not been electorally threatened since the battles of 1996, and he has managed to turn enemies into friends on more than one occasion. Always open to the old political blast of acting in his own interest as a trial lawyer, Hutto nonetheless became a key player in engineering a compromise on driving-under-the-influence legislation with critics such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving. He played a role also in gaining legislative approval of altering the state's antiquated law requiring liquor be served only from minibottles. Voters recently agreed on the matter.

He's criticized as liberal for his support of changing the state's seat belt statute to a primary law, giving police the right to ticket motorists for not wearing belts. Yet he has been supported by the National Rifle Association.

In a nutshell, Hutto is a white Democrat who knows how to gain support from traditional Democratic constituencies, including African-Americans, while also attracting votes from those who might otherwise support a Republican.

Hutto also has not been shy about his assessment of the current Republican governor, telling The Times and Democrat during his recent campaign that Mark Sanford is "a smart man and he has ideas; but, as far as follow-through, he has none."

Does that mean the 47-year-old Hutto is ready to challenge for the Democratic nomination to face Sanford? While he may well listen to overtures of encouragement and contemplate such a race, he acknowledges there are complications. The first is raising the estimated minimum of $5 million needed to consider a race against Sanford. Second is the issue of electability of a Midlands Democrat. It hasn't happened since John West from Camden 30 years ago.

Hutto acknowledges considering a race and discussions about the possibilities, but he's also a realist. He knows there are conversations with others such as Aiken Sen. Tommy Moore, Rep. James Smith of Richland County, Democratic Party state leader Joe Erwin from the Upstate, Columbia Mayor Bob Coble and others about a run.

There's also a strategic assessment. Should a young politician sit on the sidelines in 2006, possibly looking beyond to 2010 when there may be no incumbent seeking re-election. It's a matter of the right timing based on people and events.

Whether the Orangeburg senator runs or not, the state's Democrats would be wise to look to leaders such as Hutto in determining how to bring South Carolinians back into their fold.