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Voters look for unique message WILLISTON, S.C. - Steve Sloan, a retired Savannah River Site employee who is running for the town council, is a perfect example of the decidedly different political landscape the seven Democratic presidential candidates face as they campaign in South Carolina. He's a Republican who says he probably will vote for President Bush in the fall. He also plans to cast a ballot in South Carolina's Feb. 3 presidential preference primary, which is open to all comers because the state doesn't register voters by political party. The way Mr. Sloan, 58, figures it, there's an election that day, he's a citizen, and he's going to exercise his franchise, no matter who's running and no matter the party. "I always vote," he said after getting a haircut at the First Impressions salon on U.S. Highway 278. "I vote for everything. I'm a Republican, but that doesn't matter." The unfettered ability of Republicans to join independents, swing voters and, of course, Democrats at the polls eight days from today gives the South Carolina primary a much more conservative cast than last week's Iowa caucuses, which were open only to registered Democrats, and Tuesday's New Hampshire primary, which is open only to Democrats and independents. There are other crucial differences the Democrats will have to factor in as they campaign in South Carolina and prepare for a crucial televised debate Thursday in Greenville, political observers said. Two of those factors are intertwined. South Carolina is the first campaign contest in the South, a critical battleground that Democrats can't afford to forfeit to Mr. Bush and the Republican Party. "If you're going to be competitive in the general election, you have to do something in the South," said Robert Botsch, a political science professor at the University of South Carolina Aiken. "You don't have to sweep it, but you do have to take a couple of states. That's what Bill Clinton did. Al Gore would be president today if he'd managed to take Tennessee." FEB. 3 ALSO marks the first contest in a state with a significant black population. Blacks make up 22.7 percent of South Carolina's registered voters and can represent 50 percent of the Democratic turnout. "We have a very large minority population, and that makes us more like the rest of the country," Mr. Botsch said. "This is a chance to demonstrate whether you have appeal to black voters." Because there is no candidate in this race with the claim on black voters that the Rev. Jesse Jackson enjoyed during his two presidential runs - not even the Rev. Al Sharpton - that weighty segment of South Carolina's Democratic vote is up for grabs. That places a premium on a traditional forum for black politics - the church - and all the candidates have made regular appearances at Sunday services and civil rights shrines and events. The Democratic candidates also must keep white swing voters and independents in mind, both for the primary and the general election battle against Mr. Bush, observers said. The best way to play to both camps is to emphasize issues such as jobs, health care and education. Those topics form the traditional core of the Democratic message and have universal appeal, the observers said. They also strike a strong chord with voters because of South Carolina's sour economy. The state has experienced three straight years of job losses for the first time since the Great Depression. "Speaking for Barnwell County, jobs will be a major issue for Democrats and Republicans - both parties are going to have to address this," said Mr. Sloan, the SRS retiree. There are also key cultural differences that candidates will face. South Carolina is perhaps the most Southern of the Deep South states, a place where both blacks and whites are fiercely proud of their roots, freely make their religious views known and expect candidates to do the same. Advantage, U.S. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, Mr. Botsch said. Mr. Edwards finished a strong second in the Iowa caucuses and has repeatedly reminded South Carolina voters that he was born in the state. "Candidates have to be able to speak with the rhythm and flavor and religious overtones that Southerners are comfortable with, and the one that comes closest to that is Edwards," he said. THOUGH HE'S JEWISH, the strong moral reputation and conservative independence of U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, of Connecticut, also has considerable appeal for South Carolina voters, Mr. Botsch said. So does his service on the Senate Armed Services Committee, once presided over by Sen. Strom Thurmond. Retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark, born in Arkansas, also has Southern roots to tap. He can tout his long military record, which will appeal to military-minded South Carolina voters and their hawkishness on defense issues. Although he's from Massachusetts and protested the war in which he had fought, U.S. Sen. John Kerry, the winner of the Iowa caucuses, is a Vietnam War hero who got a strong boost from Iowa veterans. South Carolina presents the thorniest problems to the former front-runner, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, political observers said. Mr. Dean has struggled with the religious expectations of Southern voters, making a pilgrimage to Plains, Ga., so former President Carter could dub him "a fellow Christian." His harsh rhetoric against the war in Iraq doesn't play well in Dixie, and his gaffe about appealing to voters with Confederate flags and pickup trucks won't place him in good stead with black voters. Voters in South Carolina are listening for a different message. "I'm looking for a man who will protect our economy and protect our country," Mr. Sloan said. Thursday night's debate will begin at 8 on MSNBC. Reach Jim Nesbitt at (803) 648-1395 or jim.nesbitt@augustachronicle.com.
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