Harpootlian Leaves Door Open to Return as SCDP Chair

Last month, shortly after Barack Obama’s re-election was confirmed on Election Night, South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Dick Harpootlian told a reporter, “It’s good to win my last election.” 

It turns out Harpootlian may have been wrong. Not about Obama winning, but about it being his last election. After months of insisting he would not seek another term, Harpootlian told Patch he was now non-committal. “I’m 50-50,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of interest from Washington about challenging for (Jim) DeMint’s seat in 2014. They find it intriguing.”

“If I don’t return, I want Jaime Harrison to succeed me,” Harpootlian said, whose term officially expires in the Spring.

Harrison told Patch he’s interested, but he he's still gathering information.

2014 will be a big year for Democrats in South Carolina, with two senate seats and the governor’s office up for grabs and Harpootlian realizes the party must break through and win at least one of those races.

But there’s reason for optimism, namely due to the changing composition of the electorate. While South Carolina hasn’t seen the dramatic demographic shift of states such as Colorado and Nevada, the Hispanic population has doubled to five percent since 2000, according to US Census statistics. And of the approximately 180,000 Hispanics in the state, only 18 percent of them are believed to be registered. Gov. Nikki Haley defeated Democrat Vincent Sheheen in 2010 by 60,000 votes and if recent polls are any indicator a race between the two would again be close.

Beyond the numbers, Harrison, a former aide to Rep. Jim Clyburn, said that Democrats must make a more compelling case to voters.

“People in South Carolina realize that there has been a lack of leadership in the governor’s office and in the General Assembly for a long time,” Harrison said. “But we have to educate voters and tell them what we’ll do differently.”

One of the keys to victory in 2014 according to Harrison would be to adopt a strategy used by former DNC Chair and Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, whose “50-State Strategy” was once mocked, but is now looked at as a template. Dean advocated for devoting Democratic resources in every state, even in those where Democrats had not traditionally been strong. The strategy was credited with helping Barack Obama win states like North Carolina and Indiana in 2008.

Similarly, Harrison thinks that Democrats in South Carolina need to put all 46 counties in play and to do that they may need to put aside some personal goals. “In South Carolina politics people can hold a grudge every now and then. But we need everyone to be thinking about what’s best for the party,” Harrison said.

Harrison also said recruiting candidates and prepping them for campaigns will also be critical. “We have a lot of good people who just need to be taught how to run a campaign. Voters showed this year that, yes, the message matters but they like candidates who are comfortable with who they are. The best example of that was in the presidential race.”

Harpootlian said he expects to have made his mind up on whether he’ll return as Chairman by the new year.

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