SC Ping
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Posted on 06/09/2004 5:33:55 PM PDT by Theodore R.
South Carolina's GOP Senate Primary Forces Beasley Into Runoff NewsMax.com Wires
Wednesday, June 9, 2004 Hoping for a political comeback, former South Carolina Gov. David Beasley found himself unable to clinch a primary victory and was forced into a runoff in his bid to win the Republican nomination for one of the nation's most closely watched Senate seats. Tuesday's primary put Beasley up against three-term Rep. Jim DeMint in the GOP's effort to grab the longtime Democrat seat held by retiring Sen. Ernest "Fritz" Hollings. Education Superintendent Inez Tenenbaum won the Democrats' nomination.
Beasley got 37 percent of the vote, or 107,432 votes; DeMint got 26 percent, or 77,331 votes.
The South Carolina race was the most hotly contested of seven primaries, including Montana's GOP primary for an open governor's seat, where moderate Secretary of State Bob Brown defeated an anti-tax conservative, and a Virginia race where seven-term Democrat Rep. Jim Moran easily beat a challenger who criticized Moran's comments as anti-Semitic.
The rest - Iowa, Maine, New Jersey and North Dakota - saw mostly noncompetitive primaries.
But in South Carolina, Hollings' decision to retire after seven terms, all of them in the shadow of GOP Sen. Strom Thurmond, who retired last year at 100 and died a few months later, set off a GOP scramble. The seat is one of five held by Democrats in the South to come open this year, an opportunity for the GOP to add to its 51-48 control of the Senate.
Democrats rallied behind Tenenbaum, who has been elected twice as education superintendent.
For Beasley, it was an opportunity for resurrection. He was defeated in 1998 after one term where he angered tradition-minded voters by calling for lowering the Confederate flag from atop the Statehouse, and then fueled a deep-pocketed opposition by trying to ban video poker.
Those efforts cost him the election. Both became reality under his Democrat successor.
The critics haven't forgotten, with updated bumper stickers that say "Dump Beasley Again."
But Beasley said he was not worried. "Who would have thought we could make a comeback like this?" he said Tuesday. "The experts said we couldn't do it."
In two weeks, he'll face DeMint, who has staked out his support for U.S. trade policies, a stance that has cost him support among those in the state's hard-hit textile industry.
Like the other Republicans, DeMint supported the Bush administration on the war in Iraq and on its tax cuts. He embraced the runoff. "Mission one is accomplished. We're in the playoffs."
Tenenbaum ran as a conservative, backing the death penalty, the decision to invade Iraq and a ban on gay marriage. "I've always run an independent race," she said. "In the last two races, I received more votes than anyone else, Democrat or Republican, on the ballot."
In Virginia, Moran swept away a challenge from political newcomer Andrew Rosenberg, who said he was inspired to run by Moran's comments that "leaders of the Jewish community" helped drive the Iraq war. Moran had apologized.
In Montana, where GOP Gov. Judy Martz chose not to seek re-election after a single term that saw dismal approval ratings, Brown refused to rule out tax increases. Newcomer Pat Davison built strong support among conservatives with his anti-tax platform.
With nearly all precincts reporting, Brown led with 38 percent of the vote to Davison's 24 percent. The winner will go up against Democrat Brian Schweitzer.
I gather this means she is really a liberal and ardently in favor of abortion-on-demand.
Tenenbaum is inheriting the mantle of Hollings, who will work hard for her election. And Ernest F. Hollings, I don't believe, has ever lost a SC election, has he? People there adore him.
DeMint picked up the endorsement of Ravenel, who finished a close third, today. It's going to be a close one.
Being from SC I can tell you that hollings was elected before the Rats turned so left.
SC is VERY CONSERVATIVE trust me
Why is Ravenel anti-Beasley, just wondering?
Which of the candidates is the more forceful campaigner: DeMint or Beasley? I got the impression that Beasley is low-key and not that hard of a campaigner, but I could be wrong.
Beasley is a wishy-washy guy. During the 1980's he was the SC House Majority Leader as a RAT. In 1994, when he couldn't have the RAT nomination for Governor locked up in advance, he switched to the GOP and ran for Governor there. He was able to win the GOP primary with Carol Campbell's support.
I am here and active in South Carolina.
Tenenbaum is our version of Nancy Pelosi if not worse. She has to be beaten.
Beasly is a former Clemson liberal, a registered Democrat, who switched long enough to win the governship ten years ago but acted as such a liberal during his term that we conservatives turned on him and ran him out of office ... voting instead for a moderate Democrat. Beasly told so many stories (translate lies) from being an ex-baseball player to keeping the Confederate flag above the State House and everthing in between - including a major battle between video poker and the lottery people, et al. He was despised by the Republican Party by the time he was outsted and replaced by moderate Dem Jim Hodges.
DeMint is the man and with Ravenel's support behind him and with Grahmn and others getting onboard as well I truly believe that DeMint will win this thing in the runoff and eventually beat Inez "Pelosi" Tenenbaum.
Russ
Beasley defeated Ravenel's father in the GOP Governor primary in 1994.
Ted-
In 1994, Tom Ravenel's dad (Arthur, then a Congressman from Charleston) decided to run for Governor.
Beasley beat Ravenel in the run-off. The primary and run-off was a testy event and the Ravenels held a grudge against Beasley.
Thanks for explaining the Ravenel-Beasley rivalry. It could also be that the Ravenels consider Beasley a "Johnny-come-lately" to the GOP. The fact that Ravenel endorsed DeMint immediately made me think there was some personal rivalry there.
Beasley is a wishy-washy guy.
Sounds like you just gave a good reason for conservatives to support DeMint; still I think name ID could give the nomination to Beasley.
::::::Theodore R. wrote: Tenenbaum is inheriting the mantle of Hollings, who will work hard for her election. And Ernest F. Hollings, I don't believe, has ever lost a SC election, has he? People there adore him.::::::
Not true. There is a small segement of the state's population that adhores him perhaps - in heavily liberal and transient Charleston and in Orangeburg County ... but the remainder of the state has tired of Fritz in this last term of his where his true colors showed and he attacked Bush in the spirit of the Teddy Kennedy and others. Fritz will not help Peolosi, errrr Tenenbaum.
Russ
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I voted for Ravenel. I did not know about Beasley being a Rat in the 80s. I thought he was a conservative Christian. I am very confused now on who to vote for in the runoff. I can't stand DeMint because he voted for Nafta and SC has been hurt in the textile industry because of it. Please, anyone, educate me on Beasley/ DeMint.
Keep in mind that before the coming of Gov. Carol Campbell, the GOP was similar to a 3rd party. If conservatives wanted their votes to count for something, they voted in the RAT primary. Back then, conservatives were welcome in the RAT party. But not any more.
I would imagine that it is important to Hollings that he get a Democrat elected to succeed him: the same as with Graham in FL, Breaux in LA, and Edwards in NC, but not the case with Miller in GA. Some of these southern Democrat senators are so powerful that they can dictate their successors.
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