South Carolina's Thurmond Still Running At 93

By Bruce Morton/CNN

COLUMBIA, S.C. (May 9) -- At the state Republican convention, well-wishers greet Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.) like the old friend he is. "Strom, how are ya?" one man calls out.

"Jim, how are you?" Thurmond replies.

How about those stories that he's not up to the job any more?

Thurmond brushes them aside. "It's politics. It's politics. It's an election year. The Democrats want to get me out, but they're not going to do it," he says with a laugh. (96K WAV sound)

Thurmond is running for his eighth six-year term. He is 93, so old that when he first ran for office, Civil War veterans voted for him -- Confederate veterans, of course.

"Thurmond can lose, and what I tell a lot of people is, Strom Thurmond is in trouble, but that doesn't mean he's going to lose," said Lee Bandy of The State newspaper.

First, he has a primary opponent, a state legislator with enough money to mount a serious campaign, a man who says Thurmond's age is an issue.

"If age is an issue, and there's no question about it, it is an issue, it's an issue with South Carolinians, then we in the Republican Party, we need to deal with that and we need to deal with it in June, not November," says Rep. Harold Worley. (160K WAV sound)

What he's telling Republicans, of course, is that if you don't vote for me, Elliott Close, the likely Democratic candidate, may win.

Close is a political novice, a multimillionaire businessman and a moderate Democrat in the style of Georgia's Sam Nunn. He says age isn't an issue, exactly, but the future is.

"People want change," Close said. "They're not happy with what's going on in Washington. They also want a choice in this election. They haven't had a choice in the last few elections for Senate, and they want a choice." (128K WAV sound)

Thurmond's South Carolina is a rural, small town place. When he was born, railroads, not airlines, were king. Thurmond is a legend in this state, but an older and slower legend than he used to be. And even legends can sometimes lose elections.

Back at the convention, former Gov. Carroll Campbell, who could probably beat Thurmond but instead is backing him, says, "No way."

"I don't think Sen. Thurmond is in any trouble," Campbell said. "I think what the problem is, is there are a lot of people that wish he were in trouble."

That may be true. The Confederate flag still flies over the State House, but much has changed, too. The sounds of noontime jazz waft over downtown Columbia, where blacks and whites enjoy lunch together, and there are new industries like BMW and Fuji Film.

It's not the same state as it was in 1948, when Thurmond led a segregationist walkout from the Democratic convention. Thousands of new people have come to South Carolina in the 18 years since Thurmond's last close election.

Says Bandy: "Since then, a whole new generation of voters has moved into this state. They didn't grow up with Thurmond. They don't know Thurmond."

At the convention, the old man has waited more than two hours to speak. Finally, his time has come. The crowd erupts.

The old man, the old legend, walks to the podium. And then old man, the old lion, reared back and roared.

"No matter how tough the going gets, I don't give in and don't give up," Thurmond says. "After all, they don't call me the Thurmon-ator for nothing!" (128K WAV sound)

The delegates stood and cheered. Reliable sources say Thurmond sometimes is disoriented, but no one here saw that. As he was leaving, a few minutes later, reporters asked about the campaign.

"We're gonna win," he said. "We always do."

"And how about your health, are you up to the job?" someone asked.

"Whaddya you think?" he asked, laughing.

This story originally appeared on CNN's "Inside Politics."

South Carolina's Thurmond Still Running At 93

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