Erwin weighs Senate challenge to Graham
He would give Democrats a moderate candidate

Published: Tuesday, October 2, 2007 - 2:00 am
By Dan Hoover
STAFF WRITER
dchoover@greenvillenews.com

Joe Erwin, the Greenville advertising executive who stepped down six months ago as state Democratic Party chairman, said Monday he may challenge the re-election of Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham.

"I'll make a decision within 30 days," he told The Greenville News.

Erwin, 50, said that timeframe is twofold: It would allow him to set up a campaign if he runs, and it would still allow time for others if he decides against it.

"If you're going to do this and you know that self-funding is part of it, to ramp up an organization and start building name ID ... you can't wait too long. And let's face it, Lindsey is very fomidable," Erwin said.

An Erwin candidacy, should he become the nominee, would give the battered Democratic Party a moderate contender with roots in the GOP's Upstate heartland. It also might avoid a repetition of 2002's embarrassment when Democrat and after Democrat turned down the race before Alex Sanders agreed to run and was trounced by Graham.

Graham is seen in some quarters -- in both parties -- as possibly vulnerable because of intra-GOP strife that arose from his support for last summer's failed bipartisan immigration reform bill that many in the GOP branded as amnesty for 12 million illegal immigrants.

Some also believe he is too ready to work with Democrats.

But Graham has more than $4 million in bank and has been gearing up for re-election for years.

Several politically unknown Republicans have said they would challenge Graham in the June primary.

"If there is a nasty fight over Lindsey Graham running for a second term, it could only help Erwin," said William Moore, a College of Charleston political scientist. But even then it would be an uphill fight, he said.

Speculation about Erwin had, until Monday, revolved around a more distant run for governor in 2010, when Republican Mark Sanford is constitutionally barred from a third term. Erwin did little to publicly encourage such speculation.

"He'd be a first-rate candidate for any office," former Democratic Gov. Jim Hodges said of Erwin. "He's smart, energetic and articulate. He also has two other important attributes -- an ability to finance an expensive campaign and an ability to cut into Republican strength in the Upstate."

Erwin is a wealthy Greenville advertising executive with widely diversified financial interests. He is president of Erwin-Penland, a full-service advertising company with $175 million in annual billings, and is co-owner and co-founder of Piedmont Publishing Co.

He has never run for public office.

As party chairman, Erwin often was the state party's biggest donor, repeatedly bailing out the cash-strapped party.

He said there have been too many requests from party activists for him to dismiss a Senate race.

"Some people are sending me notes, calling me. I don't want to characterize it as a 'draft Joe Erwin' thing, but I've told each and every one that I'm willing to listen, I'm not rejecting it out of hand," Erwin said.

"A lot of people who've weighed in on this are people I respect and really like, so I want to hear them out," he said.

Erwin said that among those encouraging him is his "dyed in the wool Republican mother. When she tells me she wants me to run against Lindsey, you can bet that's one person I'm going to listen to."

While he wouldn't totally self-fund a campaign, Erwin said he would put up its seed money, perhaps sufficient for the first 100 days of organizing.

"That's a strategic mistake," he said of self-funding, because no one feels any proprietary interest in such a campaign. And, he said, self-funded campaigns have a poor track record.

Moore said Erwin would have to run as a moderate to conservative Democrat and that still would be an uphill battle. Further complicating things for him is the increasing likelihood that Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic presidential nominee, he said.

"The bottom line for Erwin is that "factors he can't control will play a major role in the 2008 Senate race," Moore said.

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Mike Gallagher interviewed Erwin on his radio show this morning. Here are some highlights:

---Erwin said Graham was dead wrong on supporting amnesty. South Carolinians and the American people are against amnesty and he is too.

---I oppose amnesty. Though I have some sympathy toward the illegals plight, our great country was built on LEGAL immigration, not ILLEGAL immigration

---We simply must not reward bad and illegal behavior. Amnesty does that.

---Our government had done a shameful job on protecting our borders.

---We are on a slippery slope when illegal immigration is rewarded, ala the NY governor offering drivers licenses to illegal aliens. That is a clear path to voter registration fraud.

Erwin seems to be a "Conservative Democrat", a Democrat who really has his head screwed on straight.