DNC delegate elected

S.C. Dems opt for new representation at national level

COLUMBIA — South Carolina Democrats opted for new blood in their top ranks Saturday, voting to elect Columbia lawyer Matthew Richardson to the Democratic National Committee instead of re-electing Charleston lawyer Waring Howe.

The vote was one of the highest profile contests at the state party's annual convention — a convention crowded with party faithful hoping to become delegates to the national convention in Denver.

It used to be that most anyone who wanted to be a delegate to this state convention could be one, but after this year's hard-fought Democratic presidential primary reinvigorated the party's base. More than 1,000 Democrats, including 110 from Charleston County, filled up the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.

The delegates unanimously re-elected state Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D- Orangeburg, as the state's Democratic National Committeewoman, but the race for the male DNC seat was hard fought.

Richardson — who was endorsed by former S.C. Superintendent of Education Inez Tenenbaum and state Rep. Bakari Sellers, D-Denmark — appeared to outspend Howe for the race. He sent out direct mail, made phone calls, threw a breakfast and had supporters waved large blue signs. "It's time for change," he said. "It's time to win."

"I'm somewhat disappointed," Howe said after the vote. "I believe the reason

I was not successful was that Richland County, with its large number of delegates, pretty much controls the South Carolina Democratic Party. It just far and away has the greatest number of delegates of any county in the state."

Howe was supported by a chunk of the party establishment, including 37 of the state's 46 county party chairs and former S.C. Democratic Party chairman Joe Erwin. Still, he lost by a 570-512 margin.

Howe noted that he supported Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in January, while Richardson supported former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards. Obama sent a letter in support of Howe's re-election.

In an earlier interview, Richardson said the 2008 presidential race is no longer an issue, and he was backed Saturday by some of Obama's most visible supporters. "That's really in the past for us in South Carolina. This race is about the future, the next four years."

Howe's DNC term will end after the national convention; after that, no one from the Lowcountry will be on the DNC .

The large crowd made balloting for national convention slots challenging and slow.

"We have way more delegates here than we thought, so we're scrambling," S.C. Democratic Party Chairwoman Carol Fowler said at one point.

The crowd also was optimistic, with few fearing that the lengthy and ongoing battle between and presidential hopefuls Obama and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton would hurt their chances in the fall.

Nationwide, Democratic voters are getting increasingly antsy about their drawn-out presidential race — one that many expect to continue past Tuesday's Indiana and North Carolina primaries.

About 62 percent of them think the extended nature of their party's presidential primary is doing more harm than good, according to a Gallup poll taken late last month and reported by CNN. Only 30 percent thought it is helping the party recapture the White House.

But those percentages seemed to be flipped among Palmetto State convention-goers, according to an informal survey.

Anton Gunn, Obama's political director in South Carolina, said he wasn't worried. "If you believe in democracy, in the little 'd' sense, then you want more people to participate."

Howe previously said he was concerned about the drawn-out presidential race but said that he isn't too worried about it anymore.

"I know it's going to end no later than early June," Howe said. "In some ways, these prolonged primaries have been helpful in increasing the number of registered Democrats and having a record turnout among Democrats in these states that normally don't have a lot of turnout and excitement. There could be a lot of benefit to it."

The Democrats' Jan. 26 primary drew a turnout of 532,151, a record for this party. And the excitement spilled over into county conventions and those hoping to go to the national convention in Denver. The ballot for potential Obama delegates contained more than 100 names.

George Tempel, the new Charleston County Democratic Party chairman, said deciding who could be delegates to the state convention was "almost a contentious issue" because so many were interested.

"It shows the degree of excitement that's here because of the possibility of their involvement," he said.

Among the national delegates chosen from the Lowcountry were Charleston County Councilwoman Colleen Condon, Charleston Mayor Joe Riley, Ilene Kahn of Mount Pleasant and Rob Groce of Dorchester County.

Reach Robert Behre at rbehre@postandcourier.com or 937-5771.