WASHINGTON — The nine Democratic presidential candidates continue to wait for U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., to endorse one of them.

They will be glad to know that by last week, he had narrowed his choices down to “four or five,” he told The State.

Clyburn is frequently called “kingmaker” because he is considered — with U.S. Sen. Fritz Hollings and U.S. Rep. John Spratt — one of the three most influential Democrats in South Carolina. He has been courted by nearly every campaign.

On Feb. 3, South Carolina will hold the first primary in the South, and Clyburn’s endorsement carries extra weight because he leads the state’s black political establishment.

Half or more of the votes in South Carolina’s Feb. 3 Democratic primary are expected to be cast by blacks.

As for when the big announcement will be made, Clyburn says mid-December.

ENERGETIC VOTES

When the House last week passed a $96 billion energy bill for the fiscal year ending on Sept. 30 2004, five of South Carolina’s six House members voted for it.

The bill has drawn the ire of many Senate Democrats — including Hollings — who consider it hostile to the environment. The legislation, among other provisions, would funnel millions of dollars to the coal and nuclear industries.

Clyburn, a “yes” vote, touted the $20 million in S.C. projects he secured in the legislation, including $2.2 million for energy research at USC and $15 million for operations at and the deepening of Charleston harbor.

The sixth House member from South Carolina, Republican Jim DeMint of Greenville, did not vote on the legislation, which passed 387-36.

“He would have voted yes,” said DeMint spokesman John Hart. “(Republican House) leadership had said the vote wasn’t going to happen that day and he had a commitment he couldn’t break.”

DeMint — who is running for the GOP nomination to succeed the retiring Hollings — was in Aiken touring Dale Phelon’s manufacturing plant, which makes engine ignition systems. Hart also noted that DeMint knew that the bill did not need his vote to pass.

IMMIGRATION BILL

U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett, R-S.C., introduced a bill last week aimed at protecting the nation from illegal immigration.

In 2000, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that nearly 8.8 million illegal immigrants live in the United States.

Barrett’s bill — Securing America’s Future Enforcement Reform, or “SAFER” — would, among other provisions, increase the number of border patrol agents by 16,000 over an eight-year period and send the military to their aid until the patrol reaches full strength.

“I was surprised, as I think a lot of people in this country were after Sept. 11, to learn just how many illegal aliens are living within our borders,” Barrett said in a statement. “It doesn’t make sense to have hard-working American taxpayers shouldering the burden placed on society by people who enter this country illegally.

“These problems also expose us to increased risk of another terrorist attack.”

The bill does not sit well with the nonpartisan, nonprofit, Washington-based National Immigration Forum.

Barrett is lumping together immigrants and terrorists, said Angela Kelley, the forum’s deputy director. “The Mexican busboy is not a terrorist.”

And Kelley said that several provisions in the bill are already federal law. For example, she said, it’s already the case that alien terrorists are deportable and cannot receive asylum.

“Despite the clever acronym, I don’t see how this enhances our national security.”

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