Sen. 'Fritz' Hollings Will Retire

Democratic Sen. Ernest "Fritz" Hollings of South Carolina said Monday he will not seek re-election next year, ending a 55-year political career and giving Republicans a strong opportunity to pick up a Senate seat.

"I'll be working around the clock for the next year and a half. ... But (then) it's time I go out and work and make a living," said Hollings, 81.

"I've been elected seven times to the United States Senate. Now it's time for someone else to take over."

His retirement would give Republicans a second strong opportunity to pick up a Southern seat — alongside Georgia in their bid to maintain control of the Senate in 2004.

Hollings, a former state legislator, lieutenant governor and governor, was first elected to the Senate in 1966. His tenure has been marked by support for defense spending and attacks on federal deficits, and his care in tending to issues of interest in his home state.

With the textile and other industries badly damaged in South Carolina, he battled a series of trade bills in recent years, arguing they shipped jobs overseas.

Earlier in his career he joined with then-Sen. Robert Kennedy, D-N.Y., to illustrate the problem of hunger in his state and the country.

"I believe history will report that Fritz Hollings was the best and most effective senator in our state's history," Charleston Mayor and fellow Democrat Joseph P. Riley Jr. said.

Former Democratic Gov. Jim Hodges said Hollings has been a great senator who sometimes "does not get the credit he deserves," citing his leadership on homeland-security issues and utility deregulation.

"He has 30-plus years in Washington. He deserves to savor the victories," Hodges said.

Hollings became the state's senior statesman when the country's longest-serving senator, Republican Strom Thurmond, retired earlier this year. Thurmond, who died in June, was succeeded by former Rep. Lindsey Graham, also a Republican.

Inez Tenenbaum, the Democratic state education superintendent, has signaled an interest in running for Hollings' seat. She said Monday she has not yet made a decision. Columbia Mayor Bob Coble is also a potential contender.

"It wouldn't be easy for anybody who's a Democrat in this state to get elected," Hollings said.

Several Republicans have begun campaigning for the seat, including Rep. Jim DeMint, former state attorney general Charlie Condon, real estate developer Thomas Ravenel and Myrtle Beach Mayor Mark McBride.

Condon said Hollings' decision marks a major change in the race. Condon, who is a Charleston resident like Hollings, said people in that area pledged to support him if Hollings did not run.

Hollings is the third senator to announce he will retire after the 2004 elections. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald, R-Ill., and Sen. Zell Miller, D-Ga., announced earlier they will not run again.

The decisions by Hollings and Miller confront Democrats with the need to hold two Southern seats as part of their drive to regain control. Republicans control the Senate, 51-48, with one independent.

Sens. John Edwards, D-N.C., and Bob Graham, D-Fla., are seeking the Democratic presidential nomination and have yet to say whether they will run for new Senate terms.