THE ISSUE: Challenging Sen. Jim DeMint

OUR OPINION: Timing could be right for Sen. Hutto, but it will be big task to win

South Carolina Republican Sen. Jim DeMint has gained national stature as a leading voice for the right wing of the Republican Party. He has been out front in challenging President Barack Obama on everything from federal stimulus money to health care reform. He made headlines with a comment about pushing for Obama’s “Waterloo.”

Inevitably, DeMint will become a target for defeat in next year’s election. At a time when Republicans are on the outside looking in as Democrats rule in Washington, DeMint is certainly gaining stature among conservatives, many of whom will deduce that DeMint’s stand represents the positions of his constituents in a solid GOP state.

No necessarily.

South Carolina is suffering under the weight of one of the nation’s highest unemployment rates. The number of people with too little or no medical insurance puts thousands upon thousands of families at risk. South Carolinians may not be in lock step with President Barack Obama and the Democrats, but there is the realization that the GOP is not in control and must play the role of the political opposition. That does not mean being outright obstructionist. It means working within the system to prevent excesses – and mistakes – by the majority.

Orangeburg state Sen. Brad Hutto is getting a lot of attention as a potential opponent for DeMint. Political blogs aimed at DeMint are touting Hutto as a strong contender. The Washington Post has him as the face of the DeMint opposition.

It’s not an unorganized effort. Already Hutto has been in Washington to meet with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. And in February he authored an opinion article that took specific aim at DeMint over the stimulus issue.

Hutto isn’t saying as yet whether he will be a candidate, but it is no secret that he has considered a run for higher office. He likely would have been a candidate for governor in 2006 had longtime Aiken Sen. Tommy Moore decided not to seek the Democratic nomination. And he was considering a run in 2010 until Senate colleague Vincent Sheheen made clear he would be candidate.

The Orangeburg lawmaker has been in the Senate since being elected in 1996 following the death of veteran Sen. Marshall Williams. In a body in which seniority rules and partisanship traditionally has taken a back seat, Hutto rose quickly to a position of stature. He serves on the powerful Judiciary Committee, giving him a voice on a majority of the legislation considered in the state’s upper chamber. He has fought the battles from the Democratic side of the aisle, but he’s been a senator first, not a pure partisan.

Still, Hutto or any other Democrat will have a tough time. Republicans remain in solid control in South Carolina, where only one Democrat holds statewide office. Two of eight members of the congressional delegation are Democrats.

DeMint has a lot of money – more than $2.6 million – in his campaign war chest. Nationally, Republicans will be willing to pump even more dollars into the race to retain the seat and keep South Carolina solidly in the GOP camp.

With the Democrats sensing vulnerability, however, they too will be ready to spend dollars here. That could set up South Carolina as a showdown state in the Democrats’ bid to hold onto solid control in Congress in midterm elections that traditionally favor the party out of power.

A key will be Hutto’s ability to build strong support inside the state among those who have abandoned the Democratic Party and voted Republican for decades. The new wave of Democrats registered before Obama’s election won’t be enough to oust DeMint. It will take people deciding that he is not playing the role in Washington that the state’s people need.

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