South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn will run for an 18th term

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Rep. Jim Clyburn, the dean of South Carolina Democrats, said Thursday he will run for an 18th term in the House, a move that could position him as an influential elder statesman in Congress if his party regains the majority in November.

The 85-year-old MP’s decision contradicts calls for generational change within the party. Clyburn is one of many veteran Democrats who are running again rather than stepping aside for younger politicians who have grown increasingly frustrated in the wake of President Joe Biden’s failed re-election campaign.

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“I’m here today to say that I believe I’m very well equipped and healthy enough to move into the next period and try to do the things necessary to continue striving for perfection,” Clyburn said at state party headquarters in Columbia. “So I’m going to campaign very aggressively.”

Clyburn is among the longest-serving Democrats in Washington, and the only member of the latest Democratic leadership team looking to stay on. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and former Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland plan to retire at the end of their current terms.

Clyburn said he sought advice from his three daughters before announcing his decision. One of them – Mignon Clyburn, a former member of the Federal Communications Commission – said she was concerned about the political harshness her father would face in Washington.

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“Her concern was for her father and what she thought I might be exposed to,” Claiborne said. “When Menon finally decides she can live with this, here I am.”

“We don’t listen to them, you shouldn’t listen to the people here, and we don’t want you to leave,” Clyburn said he heard from another woman. So I’m responding to the people here.”

Clyburn served as Majority Whip and Assistant Democratic Leader. Staying in Congress for another term could give him a chance to serve alongside the House’s first black speaker as Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York prepares to wield the gavel should Democrats win control. Clyburn was for many years the highest-ranking black lawmaker in the House.

When asked Thursday about the possibility of advising Jeffries, Clyburn said the two had recently talked about a potential working relationship in the next Congress.

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“He has expressed interest in me being part of his leadership if we want to take back the House,” Clyburn said. “He made me feel necessary.”

Four years ago, when Clyburn announced his bid for a 16th term, he told the Associated Press that he planned to continue campaigning as long as his health and support from his family remained strong.

“I told them, ‘If you see that I need to go to the rocking chair or spend my free time on the golf course, let me know,'” he said, describing his daughters’ advice.

Clyburn won re-election in 2024 by more than 20 percentage points. First elected in 1992, he represents a district that extends from the areas surrounding the capital, Columbia, through the rural central and eastern counties all the way to Charleston.

If he serves an 18th term, Clyburn will become the longest serving member of the House of Representatives from South Carolina ever. The time horizons are longer for the state’s U.S. senators, two of whom — Republican Strom Thurmond and Democrat Fritz Hollings — have served for 48 years and nearly 39 years, respectively.

Filing for this year’s election in South Carolina begins Monday and ends March 30. The South Carolina primary election will be held on June 9.

When Clyburn leaves office, the competition to succeed him will be fierce. He is the only Democrat to represent his state in Washington.

As for whether his 18th term might be his last, Clyburn called that an “open question.”

“I look forward to the day when I can spend more time reading, writing and playing golf, so this may be my last semester,” he said. “It may not be so.”