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Seniority is power in Senate, and S.C. lost a lot
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| Contributor | Joshua L. |
| Last Edited | Joshua L. Jan 03, 2005 02:14pm |
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| Category | News |
| Media | Newspaper - The State |
| News Date | Monday, January 3, 2005 06:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate is a lot like high school — it’s better to be a senior than a freshman.
The more senior a senator, the easier to pass a bill and lasso federal dollars.
That’s too bad for South Carolina, which for years enjoyed the most seniority with U.S. Sens. Strom Thurmond and Fritz Hollings and this year is sending one of the most junior duos to Washington — Lindsey Graham and Jim DeMint.
Losing a senior senator hurts a state, but it happens routinely, said Scott Huffmon, a political science professor at Winthrop University.
“The real story is that South Carolina lost two so close together.”
Republican Thurmond, who retired at 100 in 2003 and died later that year, served longer in the Senate than anyone, ever — 48 years.
Democrat Hollings, who retires this week, accumulated 38 years of seniority. He ranks ninth.
Republican Graham has two years of seniority under his belt. Republican DeMint will be a freshman when the 109th Congress is sworn in Tuesday.
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