Where have all the Democratic presidential candidates gone?

Not since the first of May, when the Democrats held their big weekend here, have any of the nine candidates spent any quality time here.

There have been some quick hits.

U.S. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina swooped in to the Upstate on June 6 to celebrate his 50th birthday at an event in Seneca, his birthplace.

Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean slipped into the capital city unannounced June 16 to raise some money.

And U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut addressed a group of party activists in Greenville last Thursday.

None of the others has set foot in the state since attending the annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, the state party convention, and participating in the first nationally televised debate May 3.

They have spent the bulk of their time campaigning in Iowa, where the voting will start Jan. 19, and New Hampshire, which votes second on Jan. 27.

South Carolina, the site of the first Southern contest, on Feb. 3, is a most critical primary following New Hampshire. It is the first contest in which blacks will play a major role. Some experts estimate that blacks could make up a majority of the voters.

One-time presidential candidate Jesse Jackson, a South Carolina native, has challenged the 2004 Democratic hopefuls to avoid the mistake Al Gore made in 2000; Jackson urged them to focus on the South and its minority voters.

The candidates who have not been to South Carolina since May 3 reject the notion they've lost interest in the Palmetto State. The White House hopefuls, their handlers explain, have been spending the bulk of their time holding private fund-raisers in homes and elsewhere, events that don't attract media attention.

The candidates were trying to have a good fund-raising quarter, which ended June 30. Federal Election Commission reports are due July 15.

One reason the candidates have devoted most of their time to campaigning in Iowa and New Hampshire is simply this: They want to come out of the gate with a good head of steam, placing first, second or third. Failure to show early could mean the end of a campaign.

Before arriving here, candidates must demonstrate their ability to attract votes and establish some momentum. Otherwise, their campaigns could end swiftly.

The winnowing-out process will start after Iowa. And the guess is by the time the primary reaches South Carolina, there could be only three or four candidates left.

S.C. Democratic Party chairman Joe Erwin says the lull here is about to end. After the big Democratic weekend, several candidates felt they had to "plant some seeds" in other states.

"It's beginning to heat back up," he says.

Erwin indicated there may be another debate here, similar to the one staged by ABC News May 3. He says the state party was working with the Democratic National Committee on a date.

"We've got a lot of stuff going on," he says. "The excitement level is extremely high."

U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri plans at least two visits here this month and two more in August. Edwards will continue his monthly campaign stop, and U.S. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts is said to be working on an appearance.

U.S. Sen. Bob Graham will start adding more trips, says Scott Anderson, his state campaign director. Graham was in Columbia last Wednesday.

"South Carolina is being looked at seriously," Erwin says. "Candidates tell me that South Carolina is probably in the top five states in importance."