Democrats in South Carolina must work harder than ever to survive in an era of Republican domination

FORT LAWN, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina state Sen. Mike Fanning likes to talk to people. He will talk about anything, but if the Democrat from Great Falls is able to steer the conversation, he’s not likely to say much about Washington.

Fanning believes deeply that public servants should focus on where they can make a difference, but for him it’s about survival, too. In a state set to hold the first Democratic presidential primary of 2024, Fanning is among an ever-dwindling number of Democrats still holding office in a party that has lost 31 straight statewide elections.

South Carolina, which also holds a crucial GOP contest later in February, is a place where voters lived for decades by the old southernism that they would vote for a yellow dog before pulling a lever marked “R.” These days that fabled dog leans Republican.

That means Democrats have to work harder than ever. Perhaps more importantly, they have to find ways to distinguish themselves from their national counterparts. So Fanning climbs into his 1970 Chevrolet pickup truck almost every weekend to traverse a district that stretches from the Charlotte, North Carolina, suburbs to rural farmland north of Columbia.

Politically, South Carolina varies from its neighbors. Georgia has two Democratic U.S. senators, and North Carolina has a Democratic governor. The Palmetto State is moving in the other direction.

The Republican governor in South Carolina won by 17 percentage points in 2022. The state’s only Democratic congressman is Jim Clyburn, who has been in office 31 years from a majority Black district. The three county councils in Fanning’s district are all dominated by Republicans — a political reality that doesn’t alter his thinking.

“I’m a Democrat. It’s what I believe in,” Fanning said. “I think it matches what other people believe, too, if they’ll listen and give me a chance.”

Recent history has shown that South Carolina Republicans use their levers of power better and tend to be more organized. Districts are drawn so the GOP can dominate. When Republicans see a chance to win local races, they send party leaders and volunteers in waves. Their state leaders regularly get dozens of local Democrats to switch parties either by sweet talk or sharing numbers showing one good Republican opponent could end a Democrat’s decades of public service.

Fanning does most of his heavy lifting back home. He goes to every street festival, back-to-school bash, family reunion, chamber of commerce meeting and road-naming he can, betting that the personal touch can help him eke out one more win. His margin of victory was 3 percentage points in 2020, and redistricting added more likely Republicans.

It hasn’t always been this way. Coming out of Reconstruction after the Civil War, South Carolina’s open embrace of segregation helped keep it aligned with the Democratic Party.

In 1932, 98% of South Carolina voters — almost all white in a state where nearly half the residents were Black but systematically blocked from casting ballots — chose Franklin Roosevelt for president at the start of the Great Depression. It was the Democrat’s biggest single-state win in his landslide.

The state’s population has increased 52% since 1990, adding about 1.8 million people. Most are people moving in, and plenty of them are retirees concerned about taxes, high prices and overactive government.

State Democratic Party Chair Christale Spain said Democrats need to do a reset on their brand, moving local issues to the forefront. That point was hammered home in 2020 when U.S. Senate candidate Jamie Harrison raised and spent $130 million to try to beat Republican incumbent Lindsey Graham, who spent $100 million. Harrison lost by 10 percentage points.

Spain, who took over after Republicans flipped seven statehouse seats in 2022, said the divisions inherent in national politics can sometimes overshadow local candidates with good ideas trying to unite communities.

“We need to focus on Main Street issues and point out how extreme these Republicans are in their communities,” Spain said. “We need to do a better job of recruiting better candidates. We’re going to have to eat this enormous elephant one bite at a time.”

South Carolina Republicans have taken advantage of the changing national priorities of both parties.

“I wouldn’t call it a political realignment, but a political evolution, especially in the South over time. And what we do is we throw gas on it everywhere we can,” South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Drew McKissick said.

Fanning backs national Democrats on issues like LGBTQ rights and public education. Ask him about whether he is going to vote for President Joe Biden, a Democrat, or former President Donald Trump, a Republican, in a potential 2020 rematch and he steers the conversation somewhere else.

He’s banking on personal connections to help him keep his Senate seat. He has about 105,000 constituents and would meet every one if he could.

He started his summer Saturday before sunrise and barely made it home for date night before dark. He took notes along the way, including one from a relative of a prominent Republican who asked for a favor and thanked him for fighting for her town. She whispered an apology that she couldn’t be more public about her support.

Fanning promised to check on the red tape keeping a pre-kindergarten program from opening. When a college student asked if he could intern in the Senate, Fanning recited his cellphone number.

His days are filled with selfies. Everyone gets one. Upon request, Fanning even lay down on the concrete to pose with a family dog.

The photos go up on his Facebook page as soon as he can upload them.

“I got into this because I like to help people,” Fanning said. “I wish more people understood, we’re at our best when we are helping everyone be their best.”

Jeffrey Collins, The Associated Press