S.C. GOP Chair Says Electability Is Key

Political Players is a weekly conversation with the leaders, consultants, and activists who shape American politics. This week, CBS News' Brian Goldsmith talked with Katon Dawson, the South Carolina Republican chairman, about this Saturday's GOP primary, and what his state's voters want in a presidential candidate.

CBSNews.com: Governor Romney is back on the air now in South Carolina after suspending his ad campaign following his second place finish in New Hampshire. How hurtful do you think that break was for his campaign?

Katon Dawson: I think that with as many undecided voters as there are right now, certainly you don't like to go down in your political media. But there are a lot of undecideds out there in this race, and it's up for grabs in South Carolina. So we will find out how well the strategy played. But Government Romney has got a strong team here, a strong presence here, for a little over a year.

CBSNews.com: Do you think that his Mormon religion has hurt him among evangelical voters--who account for as much as 50% of the GOP vote there?

Katon Dawson: My opinion would be voters are looking for an entire package, not just one issue to disqualify you. But certainly Governor Romney has values that are very consistent with evangelical voters, and has run a good campaign here.

I always think this lumping and grouping into any type of category is very dangerous in South Carolina because we are a very independent state with independent voters. If evangelicals all voted the same, Pat Robertson certainly would have won here [in 1988].

CBSNews.com: Senator McCain seems to be in a very strong position in South Carolina. He got 44 percent of the vote in 2000. He's either tied for the lead or in the lead in most of the polls. What does he have to do between now and Saturday?

Katon Dawson: I think Senator McCain certainly has had a good campaign staff in South Carolina the entire time. He is a war hero, and recognized for that. He has stuck to his message, and was right about the surge and where we are in the war on terror. And the voters, I think, are rewarding him with their favor right now for being very consistent with his message.

With that being said, there are more people in the race than there were in 2000. 2000 was basically limited to George Bush and John McCain. Right now you have got lots of very well-qualified candidates.

CBSNews.com: McCain, very famously, came back to South Carolina after the 2000 primary and apologized for going with his political advisers rather than his instincts on the Confederate flag. Do you think his position now--that the flag should be taken down--will hurt him at all?

Katon Dawson: I think that issue's behind everybody in South Carolina. I do. At least I hope it is. And we've resolved it, and certainly to some people's dissatisfaction. But this race is bigger than one issue.

Electability is huge. People want to know who could take the fight to the Democrats and retain the White House. I cannot tell you who that is right now.

CBSNews.com: Of the two leading Democrats, who do you think would be tougher to beat in a general election? South Carolina is pretty fertile territory for the Republicans, but nationally?

Katon Dawson: I think it is tough to tell you right now. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. I think the thing that I am the most encouraged about is the philosophical differences in the parties, to me, have never been as wide as they are right now. The Democrats are out front about raising taxes, socialized healthcare, weakness in the war on terror. And the Republicans are opposite on all those issues. I think you are going to see a striking difference in the candidates.

CBSNews.com: Jimmy Carter is the only Democrat in recent history who has carried South Carolina. Do you think there's any hope for a Democrat to win South Carolina in a general election this time?

Katon Dawson: I do not. I mean, 2006 in one of the worst cycles we have ever had in Republican political history, modern history, but South Carolina Republicans won eight out of nine statewide offices.

We have two United States senators, and have a good organization on the ground here and a well-organized Republican party. And we would certainly relish a presidential fight here, but I cannot imagine that presidential candidates on either side would be trying to affect the outcome here after these primaries are over.

CBSNews.com: Let me go back to a few more of the Republican candidates. Fred Thompson has essentially said that South Carolina is must-win for him. Why has it been so hard for him to get ahead there?

Katon Dawson: Well, I cannot tell you that he is not clearly ahead because I have thrown the poll numbers out the window now. Everybody who has been in the lead has only kept it briefly. We have lots of undecided voters, there is a huge question about exactly how many people are going to vote on Saturday.

That being said, I think that it matters which campaign team you've got on the ground and how long you have been campaigning here. Now that stuff is really paying off.

CBSNews.com: So it's hurt Thompson that he started so late?

Katon Dawson: I would say it has. But I don't think it is decisive. Senator Thompson has a pretty powerful message, certainly a powerful presence, and is very well known in the Republican electorate. Whether that turns into votes at the ballot box is certainly going to be up to Team Thompson.

CBSNews.com: And how do you assess the strengths and weaknesses of the Huckabee campaign in South Carolina?

Katon Dawson: Well, I have seen Mike Huckabee and his voters here off and on for over a year and a half working South Carolina, and have been just amazed at his personal intellect and his appealability to Republicans in South Carolina. And, you know, I think he has got a good chance.

He has certainly surprised people in Iowa. And I think he has got a high expectation for South Carolina.

CBSNews.com: And finally, let me ask you about Rudy Giuliani, because for a long time we were hearing that--among a lot of conservatives--national security trumped moral values issues, and therefore Giuliani could be competitive in states like South Carolina that ordinarily would not be hospitable to a pro-abortion rights, pro-gay rights, New York City mayor. Do you think that the focus is back on domestic issues, and that is why Giuliani is not doing as well down there?

Katon Dawson: Well, the mayor is campaigning, but certainly not as dedicated to this state as other campaigns, in my opinion. The mayor was here helping us in 2006 raise money when we had those tremendous wins in South Carolina.

And so I saw his appeal to ordinary South Carolinians on the war on terror, his firm stance on crime, and also the thing that I saw the crowds were really taking to was the fact that he cut taxes in New York, governed one of the largest economies in the world, and was a conservative.

And the social issues get mixed in, and again, this has not been a single-issue election. But with that being said, the campaign teams that are on the ground here right now are getting a lot more attention.

CBSNews.com: So you have to be both a national security and a moral values conservative to win in South Carolina, in your view?

Katon Dawson: I would say you have to be both. I think you have to have an entire package that is acceptable, along with the electability question.

By Brian Goldsmith