ISSUE: June primaries

OUR VIEW: Democratic politics ARE local politicsOnce the June Democratic primary in South

Carolina was THE election. That was before James Edwards broke through to win the governorship in 1974 and Carroll Campbell and other Republicans made November general elections matter on the local and state level in the years to follow. The Democratic stranglehold on politics in the state was broken.

Today, the tide has turned. Around the state, Republicans dominate, holding all but one statewide office.

But there remain Democratic bastions. Orangeburg County is one.

Witness this Tuesday’s primary. For Orangeburg County, June 10 is the local election. Only the winner of the House District 66 race faces a Republican opponent in November.

Interest is high in local races here. A veteran lawmaker faces opposition in House 66, the sheriff has two opponents, the clerk of court and coroner are opposed, and a county councilman has opposition. Add to the lineup two-way races for U.S. Senate and for the 2nd District congressional seat.

For Republicans in the county, it is decision time. South Carolina election law does not require a person to register by party, meaning a voter can participate in the primary of choice. But there are limitations.

Once, lawmakers were considering allowing a voter to choose a primary by political race. Under such a system, a Republican could have voted in the Democratic primary races on the local scene and then opted to vote in the two Republican races on local ballots: for U.S. Senate and 2nd District Congress. The voter would not have been able to vote in the Democratic races for Senate and Congress.

Conservative Democrats liked the idea for local races around the state because it gave them access to votes by a growing Republican electorate. But such a plan would have made the primaries no more than a hybrid general election. It was rejected.

Thus the present rules: A person can vote in the primary of choice on a particular day. The choice does not apply to a different primary on another date. In other words, a vote in the Democratic primary on Tuesday does not mean a person cannot choose the Republican primary next time around. It does mean that only those who vote in the Democratic primary on Tuesday would be eligible to participate in any runoffs two weeks later.

Look for Republicans to cross over in Orangeburg County and take part in the local elections.

Some Democrats will welcome their participation, others will not, but there is no reason for making those looking to participate in the process unwelcome.

That was the case for some years prior to 2004, when Democrats in their presidential primary decided to abandon a holdover from the past.

That year, the Democrats had planned to continue a policy of having voters sign oaths before participating. The voter would attest to considering himself or herself a Democrat.

The pledge had been part of the Democratic Party process in South Carolina since 1976 but actually may have done more to hurt African-American turnout than dissuade Republican crossovers. Oaths carry a stigma of times past when poll taxes and literacy tests were used to keep minorities from voting.

Bottom line: Those who have been voting Republican for years can impact the outcome on Tuesday, conceivably yielding a different result than had the GOP had a primary that attracted local candidates and local voters.

Until Republicans can find a way to build a base among the African-American majority here, the county will remain a bastion of Democratic politics with Republican voters playing a role in picking winners for the opposing party.

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