With Time Dwindling, S.C. Congressmen Say No Favorite

U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy doesn't think his endorsement carries a lot of weight.

"There is not a single soul who cares who I'm voting for in the primary," said Gowdy, a Republican who represents Spartanburg and Greenville counties, on Tuesday.

There are six anxious GOP Primary candidates who think differently. The campaigns are still reaching out to the South Carolina GOP Delegation — known for their conservative bona fides.

South Carolina's two Republican senators, Jim DeMint and Lindsey Graham, have sat on the sidelines this year and Gov. Nikki Haley already handed her endorsement to former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney. That puts all eyes on what Gowdy and the rest of the delegation has planned for Primary Day.

Friday night, Gowdy and U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan, who also represents a large portion of the Upstate, will .

On Saturday, U.S. Rep. Tim Scott will finish off his series of presidential town hall events with . 

But some voters are less interested in the questions their asking and more interested in the question this congressmen might be able to answer:

Who are they voting for?

Just before beginning an interview with Patch, Duncan was responding to a constituent who had texted, asking who he was supporting in the primary.

"Unfortunately, I had to tell them I'm still looking," he said. "I haven't warmed up to any candidate. I think a lot of folks are in the same boat I am."

Duncan is still being wooed, fielding calls from surrogates and taking meetings with presidential candidates.

"I've said, 'Inspire America to greatness again,'" he recalled. "That's what I'm looking for in a candidate."

Like Gowdy, Duncan doubts the value of his endorsement.

"I just don't see myself in an influential role," he said.

Similarly, Rep. Joe Wilson in the Midlands is also staying out of the race.

He endorsed Tim Pawlenty and served as a state chair until the Minnesota governor dropped out of the race last summer. Wilson said he's not looking for an alternative and he'll wait and support the successful candidate.

One More Big Endorsement

Scott, who represents much of the coast near Charleston, may be the most popular guy in the room right now, feeling last-minute pressure from the campaigns for an endorsement.

It's because he's the last uncommitted major player in South Carolina politics . 

But even Thursday, Scott was playing down the chances that he'd back one candidate over another. He continued to suggest he could just sit on his hands for the next week.

"I'll be closer after Saturday and Monday," he said, referring to his forum and the Fox News Debate in Myrtle Beach Jan. 16. "I'll make a decision after that."

Scott's choice to hold off on endorsing and instead host impartial forums with each candidate but Ron Paul (see stories on , , , , ) may have reshaped how some politicians look at their role in the primaries. Scott is also on Saturday.

He's already fielded interest from fellow house members about replicating the town hall format in other districts. "They were more fun than I thought they would be," Scott said. "I think it gives constituents a chance to get more than a soundbite."

Gowdy is one of the those believers in the Scott method. "You're providing access for the people you work for so they can make up their minds," Gowdy said.

No Regrets

Gowdy recounted a meal earlier this week where he sat among four Tea Party members. Each had settled on a different candidate.

U.S. Rep. Mick Mulvaney, from the Pee Dee, understands the push and pull playing out among the congressional delegation and, on a larger scale among S.C. primary voters. "There's been no consensus conservative candidate," he said. 

The freshman Republican is the only one who has made an endorsement and still has a candidate in the race: Texas Gov. Rick Perry. The candidate is struggling to find footing in the last days of the S.C. Primary, but Mulvaney says he has no regrets.

"The more time I spend with Rick Perry, the more satisfied I am with my choice," he said, noting his evolvment in shaping the campaign's economic strategy.

Bad debate performances and poor showings in Iowa and New Hampshire have South Carolina voters skeptical. "They're afraid to vote for him because they worry he can't beat Obama," Mulvaney said.

He says Perry is working to change minds. "Nobody lines up with us better than he does," Mulvaney said.

Gowdy has noticed the electability concerns, too. "There's more of a conversation this time about how to marry orthodoxy with electability," Gowdy said. "There is this factoring in of whether a candidate can win the general election."

At least three of the five GOP congressmen — and possibly four of the five — may go into Primary Day without having endorsed or campaigned for one candidate.

While it will be a very quiet Jan. 21 among the delegation. Wilson notes that the party comes together the day after. So much of the primary process involves divisive confrontations over issues and personalities. That ends when the party finds a favorite.

"The very next day, we all come together," Wilson said.