SC’s Jim Clyburn ‘not conceding anything’ ahead of midterm elections

U.S. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, South Carolina’s highest-ranking Democrat, says he’s not conceding that Republicans will take control of the House in Tuesday’s midterm elections despite projections of a GOP takeover.

Clyburn, the House’s highest-ranking Black lawmaker, recently finished a 13-day stretch of traveling around the country — he traveled to California, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia — stumping for House and Senate Democratic candidates before Tuesday.

Clyburn is not the only South Carolinian who’s been crisscrossing the country over the past few weeks looking to boost candidates. So have Republicans U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham, Tim Scott and former Gov. Nikki Haley.

“Nobody has given up. We’re working hard. You know what the projections are, but we’ll see,” Clyburn told The State newspaper Tuesday in Orangeburg after celebrating a $58 million grant for the state from the Environmental Protection Agency to buy new electric school buses.

Democrats currently have a 220-to-212 advantage over Republicans in the House, with three seats vacant.

Historically, parties that control the White House have lost seats in Congress during midterm elections.

CBS News has projected Republicans could end up with 228 seats and Democrats with 207 seats after Nov. 8. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report has projected a 25-seat gain for Republicans. And, last month, an NBC News poll found 47% of Americans want Democrats to control Congress and 46% want Republicans.

Clyburn said he feels better about Democrats’ prospects than he did last week.

“Two times before this, Republicans were projected to take over and they didn’t,” Clyburn said. “So I’m not conceding anything.”

Clyburn, who was an assistant leader the last time Democrats were in the minority, is running for reelection for a 16th term against Republican Duke Buckner in a district drawn to favor Democrats.

With a possible GOP takeover on the horizon, Clyburn said he isn’t making any decisions right now on future runs.

“It depends on what my health is like,” said Clyburn, who turned 82 in July. “I have a lot of people, I have three daughters, who I talk to daily. They keep me informed as to what they think I’ll be doing, and so I’m not making any decisions based upon whether or not I’m in the majority and minority.”

Whether Democrats control Congress, Clyburn said he still can be an effective lawmaker, pointing to how the South Carolina Heritage Corridor, a stretch of 17 counties in the state to preserve and promote cultural, natural and historic resources, was created in 1996 when his party was in the minority.

“I will just keep working as hard as I possibly can and hopefully we’ll not be too disappointed, if at all, with the results,” Clyburn said.

‘I can tell when threats have come in’

The third-ranking Democrat in the U.S. House, Clyburn also addressed the recent attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, in their San Francisco house and any potential concerns he has for his own safety.

Pelosi, who was the primary target of the attack, was not home when the attack occurred. The Washington Post reported Tuesday that Capitol Police had cameras on Pelosi’s house but weren’t monitoring them during the attack.

Clyburn, who has a security detail, said he has an alarm system at his Columbia house and the Columbia Police Department regularly stays in touch with his family about potential security concerns.

“You’re concerned about them, you take the necessary precautions, but I’m not going to let that keep me from trying to do what I think is necessary to do my job,” Clyburn said.

Any threats to his safety are communicated to Capitol Police, he said.

“I can tell when threats have come in because I can see how my detail acts and reacts,” Clyburn said. “If I see (an increase) of people around me, then I know something’s happening, and I’ve seen that several times.”

To mitigate these concerns, Clyburn said public officials have a responsibility in the tone they set.

Members of Congress have previously been targets of attack. In 2017, U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Louisiana, was struck by a lone gunman during a Republican congressional baseball team practice. In 2011, former Arizona U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, a Democrat, was shot in the head by a lone gunman but survived. Six others at the Giffords event died.

“In recent years, we’ve had politicians who are much more interested in making headlines than making headway. You say crazy stuff and it gets you a headline, but what does that do for improving the quality of life for people?” Clyburn said. “So much of it contributes to deteriorating the environment that we live in, and I would just hope that the public will do what it can to rid us of these cancers that are creeping into our system.”