But he won't be its financial savior.

Hollings, 81, said Friday that if he decides against running, he won't use his excess campaign funds to bail out a state party strapped for cash.

"Absolutely not," Hollings said Friday when asked whether there was any chance of making a donation. "No, sir."

Although party leaders insisted the decision wasn't critical, others had hoped Hollings would use his campaign funds to kick in at least a portion of the $500,000 needed to put on the Feb. 3 presidential primary featuring nine hopefuls.

If he does retire, Hollings said he plans to use the nearly $1 million in his war chest to promote causes he's championed in Washington.He declined to name specific groups or causes he's considering, but Hollings has long been a supporter of a balanced budget, an opponent of the trade imbalance, and a proponent of port security and cancer research.

The state party "got themselves into" the early presidential primary rotation, he said, adding that putting on the primary is solely up to the fund-raising wing of party headquarters.

"I'm going to campaign. I'm not going to give it to the party," he said. He wouldn't elaborate.

Hollings is expected to decide later this month whether he'll seek an eighth term in Washington. Although he says the decision is up to his wife, Peatsy, friends privately say they don't expect him to be a candidate.

Federal Election Commission regulations give elected officials wide latitude on how they can use their campaign funds, both in and out of office. Although Hollings cannot convert the money to personal use, FEC spokesman Ian Sterling said he can use it to pay for travel connected to his duties or to help close down his state offices.

He also can donate it to charities, foundations and trusts. Another option is to give all or a portion of the money "without limitation" to any national, state or local political party committee, which is what some Democrats were hoping he'd do for the state party.

State Democratic Chairman Joe Erwin said he respects Hollings' decision and that it is not that detrimental because the party has a fund-raising plan in place.

"It's not a blow," Erwin said.

Hollings already has contributed to the effort, giving the state party $5,000 from Citizens For a Competitive America, a political action committee he controls. He will take part in a $1,000-per-person fund-raiser Monday night in Columbia.

Democrats need at least $500,000 to bankroll their first-in-the-South presidential primary, which was scheduled after state officials lobbied the Democratic National Committee to ease its rules on the primary calendar and let South Carolina move to the front of the primary states, behind Iowa and New Hampshire. At the time, officials said they wanted to use the primary as a way to build interest in the party.

Democrats have to pay for the primary because, unlike most states, South Carolina requires its political parties to run the presidential preference votes. For the February primary, that means Democrats have to draft a polling place staff, print ballots, find space for 2,005 voting precincts and count the votes.

Raising $500,000 through conventional means is a tall order. The simple math indicates they need to net about $100,000 per month in donations in a struggling economy and in a state that leans strongly toward President Bush. Last week, party headquarters reported having only $6,558 in the bank, while Republicans had more than $260,000.

Erwin said the party is relying on a number of launch pads to get the cash rolling in. The first phase starts Monday night with the fund-raiser to honor the state's three Democrats in the state's eight-man federal delegation: Hollings and U.S. Reps. Jim Clyburn of Columbia and John Spratt of York.

Democratic leaders hope to raise about $75,000 from the event, a figure that is down from earlier predictions of about $100,000. Erwin said the lower estimate has more to do with the size of the restaurant housing the event than lagging ticket sales.

The dinner will be closed to the media, and a guest list hasn't been released. Erwin still hopes some corporate sponsorship will come through.

Another potential fund-raising opportunity is for Democrats to hold a second televised candidate debate. A nine-way showdown aired on ABC-TV during the state convention in May. The weekend gathering and a fund-raising dinner netted more than $300,000.

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