GEORGETOWN - This small seaport city's job losses have become pivotal in Democratic presidential politics, with the announcement Friday that both Jesse Jackson and Dick Gephardt are coming in the next few days to rally voters.

Their visits come in the wake of a campaign stop Tuesday by Democratic candidate Howard Dean. His rally featured the closed steel mill in the background, and he said the Bush administration's policies have cost jobs.

The mill closed Oct. 20 and filed for bankruptcy the next day. Almost 600 people were put out of work. In the past two years, Georgetown County has lost hundreds more jobs in manufacturing and textiles.

Gephardt said in a conference call Tuesday that Dean was right but came to the issue too late. He said he has always opposed trade policies such as the North American Free Trade Agreement that foster taking jobs offshore, and he is the one with the background and experience to follow through on his promises.

He also said he would be coming to Georgetown soon, but he would not give a date.

On Friday, his staff said he would stump at the steelworkers' hall at 3 p.m. Wednesday.

The United Steelworkers national organization has endorsed Gephardt.

James Sanderson, president of the steelworkers' local union, said jobs are the issue in the South, and he is glad to see the focus on it coming to Georgetown.

"Georgetown should be very proud of what's going on right now," he said. "I think the issue of jobs and NAFTA is catching on, and we feel like as a Democratic Party, we need to demand that all Democratic candidates pick this up as an issue."

Jackson, in a telephone conference call with news outlets Friday, said he is making stops in Columbia, Florence, Georgetown and Charleston to stir interest in voting and voter registration for the Feb. 3 Democratic presidential primary.

He will be at the steelworkers' hall at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

"The New South agenda must address the loss of jobs," Jackson said. "South Carolinians are losing their jobs because of an uneven playing field. We cannot compete with slave labor markets."

His swing through the state will emphasize voter registration, economic security, equal protection of the law and racial reconciliation, Jackson said.

Racial tensions are increased by job losses, and people need to be taught to vote according to "our economic interests and not our racial fears," he said.

The government has a plan for reconstruction and recovery in Iraq and Afghanistan, Jackson said, but "we don't have such a plan for the South, and we need one."