Joe Erwin - Political Activity

Political Activity

While at Clemson, Erwin was a member of College Democrats, and volunteered for a number of campaigns, including future South Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburn's campaign for Secretary of State, Richard W. Riley’s campaign for governor, and Jimmy Carter’s presidential race. During the 1980s and 1990s, he campaigned for South Carolina Governor Jim Hodges, U.S. Senator Ernest Hollings, South Carolina Superintendent of Education Inez Tenenbaum, and statewide candidates Steve Benjamin and Rick Wade.

Erwin was elected Chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party in 2003, and completed his second two-year term in May 2007. During that time, he negotiated and produced two Democratic presidential debates–one in Greenville in 2003 and one in Orangeburg in 2007–that were broadcast live nationally on NBC. The Greenville debate was the last debate moderated by Tom Brokaw before he left the anchor chair at NBC News. Erwin chose to hold the 2007 debate on the campus of South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, marking the first time a presidential primary debate had been held at an historically black college or university.

Erwin’s four-year chairmanship focused on reorganization at the grassroots level; holding a successful, volunteer-run statewide Democratic presidential primary in 2004; producing the two Democratic presidential debates; and seeking the right for South Carolina to hold its 2008 Democratic presidential primary in the “pre-window” period–as the only primary between the New Hampshire primary and Super Tuesday.

South Carolina competed against 10 other states and the District of Columbia for the early primary designation, and ultimately was chosen by the DNC to join New Hampshire as the only other state with a pre-window primary. The January 2008 Democratic presidential primary, in which South Carolina Democrats turned out in record numbers and outpolled Republicans by more than 88,000 votes, was a watershed event in the 2008 Democratic presidential nominating process. Senator Barack Obama won the primary with 55% of the vote.

When Erwin’s term as chair expired in May 2007, he chose not to seek re-election, but remained involved in politics. During his chairmanship he remained neutral in the primary battle, seeking to engage all voters and help all candidates grow their South Carolina campaigns. In fall 2007, however, he endorsed Senator Barack Obama for president, and campaigned with and for the senator in the months leading up to the January 2008 primary.