“All the leading Democratic candidates have told me they will” participate in the April 26 presidential debate at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, 6th District U.S. Rep. James Clyburn said Wednesday.

“I look forward to seeing them make history,” the congressman said. It’s the first time a national presidential debate will be held at a historically black college or university in South Carolina.

Clyburn’s comments came in a release issued Wednesday by the South Carolina Democratic Party that reveals new details about the previously announced debate, which is to be the first nationally for the contenders.

Particularly noteworthy is the announcement that Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center will be a viewing site.

Nearly a thousand students and community members will be able to watch the debate and rally with the candidates afterward.

Seating will be far more limited in the Martin Luther King Jr. Auditorium, where the debate will take place, because of security considerations, because it’s a smaller venue than S-H-M and because cameras will further reduce the available seating.

Information on how to request seating has not yet been released.

NBC News is producing the debate, which will be broadcast live from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on NBC’s South Carolina affiliates; nationally on its sister cable television channel, MSNBC; and on MSNBC.com.

MSNBC’s signature political program, “Hardball with Chris Matthews,” will air live from the university at 5 p.m. that day.

The debate is the first of its kind in the 2008 presidential campaign, and it is taking place in a heavily Democratic county in the state with the first Southern presidential primary.

U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd, who already has visited Orangeburg once this year, issued a news release Wednesday announcing he has accepted an invitation to participate in the debate.

“South Carolina voters deserve the opportunity to see presidential candidates on one stage answering the tough questions and debating the issues,” Dodd said.

“We Democrats have important issues to address, issues that matter to the American people, South Carolinians and our fellow Democrats,” the Connecticut senator said.

“The fact that we will be at Congressman Jim Clyburn’s alma mater for this first debate makes it even more significant,” Dodd said.

Clyburn’s spokesperson, Hope Derrick, said Wednesday she was not sure how many other candidates have told Clyburn they’ll be there.

The congressman was not immediately available for comment because he was heavily involved in his House whip duties in advance of a key vote scheduled for Thursday, Derrick said.

“Any Democratic candidate who wants to be president has to come through South Carolina and they will all be here the weekend of April 26-28,” state party chairman Joe Erwin said in the release.

“The path to the presidency starts in South Carolina in April on the historic campus of South Carolina State University in Orangeburg on Thursday the 26th,” Erwin said.

SCSU President Dr. Andrew Hugine Jr. has said he looks forward to “working closely with NBC News to showcase the incredible diversity of riches our school has to offer.”

“Through its students, alumni and constituents, (SCSU) has played a significant and pivotal role in shaping the history of this state and this nation; therefore, it is most appropriate that this historic event take place on this historic campus,” Hugine said in remarks posted on the SCDP Web site.

The party announced Wednesday that The Times and Democrat and the Orangeburg County Development Commission will sponsor a media welcome dinner just prior to the debate.

The spotlight will move to Columbia the following day for the party’s annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, featuring a keynote speech by former U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr. of Tennessee.

Following the dinner will be Clyburn’s annual Fish Fry, an informal party featuring food, live music and, of course, remarks by officeholders and candidates at various levels of government.

The next morning, all of the presidential candidates are invited to speak at the state party convention.

T&D Staff Writer Lee Hendren can be reached by e-mail at lhendren@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5552. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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