Clyburn served as the third-ranking House Democrat, behind Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer, from 2007 until 2023, serving as majority whip behind Pelosi and Hoyer during periods of Democratic House control, and as assistant Democratic leader behind Pelosi and Hoyer during periods of Republican control. He was House Majority Whip from 2007 to 2011 and again from 2019 to 2023 and also House assistant Democratic leader from 2011 to 2019 and again from 2023 to 2024.[1] After the Democrats took control of the House in the 2018 midterm elections, Clyburn was reelected majority whip in January 2019 at the opening of the 116th Congress, alongside the reelected Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer, marking the second time the trio has served in these roles together.
In the 2022 midterm elections, Republicans gained control of the House, and Pelosi announced her retirement as leader of the House Democratic Caucus. On the same day, Hoyer announced he would not seek his leadership position. Clyburn announced that he would seek the House Assistant Democratic Leader position, rather than that of Democratic Whip.[2][3]
Clyburn was born in Sumter, South Carolina, the son of Enos Lloyd Clyburn, a fundamentalistminister, and his wife, Almeta (née Dizzley), a beautician.[4][5] A distant relative of his was George W. Murray, an organizer for the Colored Farmers Alliance (CFA), who was a Republican South Carolina Congressman in the 53rd and 54th U.S. Congresses in the late 19th century.[6] He and other black politicians strongly opposed the 1895 state constitution, which essentially disenfranchised most African-American citizens, a situation the state maintained for more than half a century until federal civil rights legislation passed in the mid-1960s.
For his first full-time position after college, Clyburn taught at C.A. Brown High School in Charleston.
Early political career
Clyburn became involved in politics during the 1969 Charleston hospital strike.[7] After assisting the settlement of the protests at the Medical University of South Carolina, he became involved in St. Julian Devine's campaign for a seat on the Charleston city council in 1969. Clyburn came up with the campaign's slogan, "Devine for Ward Nine". When Devine won the race, he became the first African American to hold a seat on the city council since Reconstruction. Clyburn later credited that campaign as the reason he got into electoral politics.[8]
After an unsuccessful run for the South Carolina General Assembly, Clyburn moved to Columbia to join the staff of GovernorJohn C. West in 1971. West called Clyburn and offered him a job as his advisor after reading Clyburn's response to his loss in the newspaper. After West appointed Clyburn as his advisor, Clyburn became the first nonwhite advisor to a governor in South Carolina history.
In the aftermath of the 1968 Orangeburg massacre, when police killed three protesting students at South Carolina State, West appointed Clyburn as the state's human affairs commissioner.[9] He served in this position until 1992, when he stepped down to run for Congress. The Orangeburg massacre and civil-rights protest predated the 1970 Kent State shootings and 1970 Jackson State killings, in which the National Guard at Kent State, and police and state highway patrol at Jackson State, killed student protesters demonstrating against the U.S. invasion of Cambodia during the Vietnam War.[10]
After the 1990 census South Carolina's district lines were redrawn. Due to prior racial discrimination before the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Supreme Court required the 6th district, which had previously included the northeastern portion of the state, to be redrawn as a black-majority district. The 6th was reconfigured to take in most of the majority-black areas near Columbia and Charleston, as well as most of the Black Belt. Five-term incumbent Robin Tallon's home in Florence stayed in the district, but he chose to retire. Five candidates, all of whom were African American, ran for the Democratic nomination for the seat. Clyburn's campaign was led by NAACP activist Isaac W. Williams.[11]
Clyburn won 55% of the vote in the primary, eliminating the need for a runoff. As expected, he won the general election in November handily, becoming the first Democrat to represent a significant portion of Columbia since 1965 and the first Democrat to represent a significant portion of Charleston since 1981. He was the first African-American to represent South Carolina in Congress since George W. Murray in 1893.[12] He has been reelected 15 times with no substantive Republican opposition.
For his first 10 terms, Clyburn represented a district that stretched from the Pee Dee through most of South Carolina's share of the Black Belt, but swept west to include most of the majority-black precincts in and around Columbia and south to include most of the majority-black precincts in and around Charleston. After the 2010 census, the district was pushed well to the south, losing its portion of the Pee Dee while picking up almost all of the majority-black precincts near Beaufort and Hilton Head Island (though not taking in any of Beaufort or Hilton Head themselves). The reconfigured 6th was no less Democratic than its predecessor. In all its incarnations as a black-majority district, it has been dominated by black voters in the Columbia and Charleston areas, and for much of that time has been the only safe Democratic district in the state.
In 2008, Clyburn defeated Nancy Harrelson, 68% to 32%.[13] In 2010, he defeated Jim Pratt, 65% to 34%.[14] In 2012, Clyburn defeated Anthony Culler, 73% to 25%.[15]
In March 2024, Clyburn announced his run for re-election.[16] His Republican opponents, Duke Buckner and Justin Scott, will compete in their June Primary.[17] Gregg Marcel Dixon, who ran against Clyburn as a Democrat in 2022,[18] switched to the United Citizens Party for his 2024 run for the seat.[19]Alliance Party candidate Joseph Oddo and Libertarian candidate Michael Simpson have also filed for the seat.[20] In November 2024, Clyburn won re-election with 59.5% of the vote.[21]
South Carolina Redistricting
In 2023, ProPublica reported that Clyburn secretly worked with South Carolina Republicans during the 2020 Congressional redistricting process to dilute the state's Black vote.[22] The resulting Congressional map made Democrats "have virtually no shot of winning any congressional seat in South Carolina other than Clyburn’s."[22] The NAACP, in 2022, challenged the South Carolina's redistricting as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, alleging that Republicans deliberately moved Black voters into Clyburn’s district to solidify Republican control over a neighboring swing district.[23] A spokesperson for Clyburn denied "any accusation that Congressman Clyburn in any way enabled or facilitated Republican gerrymandering."[22] The NAACP case, filed as Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, was argued on October 11, 2023, in the Supreme Court and a ruling will be made during the 2023–24 term.[24][25][26]
Tenure
Party leadership
Clyburn with President Barack Obama as he meets with House leaders in 2009
In the 2010 elections, the Democrats lost their House majority. Pelosi ran for Minority Leader in order to remain the House party leader, while Clyburn announced that he would challenge Steny Hoyer, the second-ranking House Democrat and outgoing Majority Leader, for Minority Whip. Clyburn had the support of the Congressional Black Caucus, which wanted to keep an African-American in the House leadership, while Hoyer had 35 public endorsements, including three standing committee chairs. On November 13, Pelosi announced a deal whereby Hoyer would remain Minority Whip, while a "number three" leadership position styled Assistant Leader would be created for Clyburn.[28] The exact responsibilities of Clyburn's assistant leader office were unclear, though it was said to replace the Assistant to the Leader post previously held by Chris Van Hollen, who had attended all leadership meetings but was not in the leadership hierarchy.[29][30]
Clyburn is regarded as liberal in his political stances, actions and votes. In 2007 the National Journal ranked him the 77th most liberal U.S. representative, with a score of 81, indicating that the conductors of this study found his voting record to be more liberal than 81% of other House members, based on their recent voting records.[33] Clyburn identifies as a progressive,[34] but thinks the Democratic Party's more liberal wing should be "practical". Various progressives have called him "conservative" and "centrist".[35][36]
Clyburn has established liberal stances on health care, education, organized labor and environmental conservation issues, based on his legislative actions as well as evaluations and ratings by pertinent interest groups.[37]
Healthcare
In 2009, Clyburn introduced the Access for All Americans Act. The $26 billion sought by the Act would provide funding to quadruple the number of community health centers in the US that provide medical care to uninsured and low-income citizens.[38]
Clyburn has continuously sought new and additional funding for education. He has gained additional funding for special education[42] and lower interest rates on federal student loans.[43] In many sessions Clyburn has sought, sponsored and/or voted for improvements in Pell Grant funding for college loans.[44]
The National Education Association and the National Association of Elementary School Principals rate Clyburn very highly, as do other education interest groups.[45]
Ports
Although he was criticized for a previous expenditure of 160 million dollars to expand South Carolina's ports, Clyburn said he would continue to make funding available for further expansions. The plan is to deepen the ports to allow for larger commercial ships to arrive from the Panama Canal, which is being expanded to allow for larger ships to pass through. This is primarily because of larger commercial ships from China, and China's extremely high demand for soybeans, which are produced in South Carolina but must be sent to larger ports for exporting. This measure will benefit South Carolina business and farmers and is thus heavily backed by these groups.[46]
Labor
Clyburn has consistently voted for increases in minimum wage income and to restrict employer interference with labor union organization.[47]
Clyburn with Nancy Pelosi and U2 lead singer Bono in 2006
Clyburn has opposed legislation to increase offshore drilling for oil or natural gas. Instead, he has promoted use of nuclear energy as a cheaper alternative to fossil fuels than wind and solar energy.[49] Members of the nuclear power industry have said that there is mutual respect between Clyburn and themselves.[50] Clyburn pushed for a 2010 contract to convert plutonium from old weapons into nuclear fuel.[50][51]
Organizations such as the League of Conservation Voters and Defenders of Wildlife have viewed Clyburn favorably,[52] but he angered environmentalists when he proposed building a $150 million bridge across a swampy area of Lake Marion in Calhoun County.
On July 31, 2007, Clyburn said in a broadcast interview that it would be a "real big problem" for the Democratic Party if General David Petraeus issued a positive report in September, as it would split the Democratic caucus on whether to continue to fund the Iraq War. While this soundbite caused some controversy, the full quote was, in reference to the 47-member Blue Dog caucus, "I think there would be enough support in that group to want to stay the course and if the Republicans were to stay united as they have been, then it would be a problem for us."[55]
Bill Clinton comments
Clyburn was officially neutral during the 2008 primary battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, but former President Bill Clinton blamed Clyburn for Hillary's 29-point defeat in the South Carolina primary and the two of them had a heated telephone conversation. Clyburn had voted for Obama, saying, "How could I ever look in the faces of our children and grandchildren had I not voted for Barack Obama?"[56] He negatively viewed Bill Clinton's remarks about Obama winning the South Carolina primary. Clinton had compared Obama's victory to Jesse Jackson's win in the 1988 primary.[57] "Black people are incensed all over this", Clyburn said. Clinton responded that the campaign "played the race card on me", denying any racial tone in the comment.[58] Speaking to The New York Times, Clyburn said such actions could lead to a longtime division between Clinton and his once most reliable constituency. "When he was going through his impeachment problems, it was the black community that bellied up to the bar", Clyburn said. "I think black folks feel strongly that this is a strange way for President Clinton to show his appreciation."[57]
Impeachments of Bill Clinton and Donald Trump
On December 19, 1998, Clyburn voted against all four articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton. On December 18, 2019, Clyburn voted for both articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump.[59] On January 13, 2021, one week after the January 6 United States Capitol attack, Clyburn voted for the single article of impeachment against Trump.
In 1996, Clyburn voted in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act, which at the time passed with majority Democratic support and near-unanimous Republican support.[64] The act restricted federal recognition of marriage to the union of a man and a woman, and explicitly granted states the power to ban same-sex marriage and refuse to acknowledge same-sex marriages granted under the laws of other states.[65] The House Judiciary Committee had explicitly said the act was meant to "express moral disapproval of homosexuality".[66] The act passed by an 85-vote majority in the Senate and was signed into law by President Bill Clinton.[64]
In 2012, after Obama's public endorsement of same-sex marriage,[67] amid shifting public opinion of same-sex marriage, Clyburn said in an interview that he too supported marriage equality.[68] In the interview, he said his former disapproval of same-sex marriage was rooted in his Christian faith, but that he had since "evolved". Clyburn called for nationwide legislation of marriage equality, opposing Obama's state-by-state approach, saying, "if you consider this to be a civil right—and I do—I don't think civil rights ought to be left up to a state-by-state approach".[68]
During the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries, when considering an endorsement, Clyburn cited Pete Buttigieg's sexual orientation as an issue, saying it was "no question" that his sexuality would hurt his popularity and that "[he] knew a lot of people [his] age that felt that way."[69] Clyburn added, "I'm not going to sit here and tell you otherwise, because I think everybody knows that's an issue."[70] In the wake of his comments, then-candidate Kamala Harris dismissed his comments as "nonsense" and "a trope" of the African American community,[71] but the Benson Strategy Group reported that "being gay was a barrier for these voters, particularly for the men who seemed uncomfortable discussing it."[71]
Clyburn is considered a power broker in South Carolina.[76][77] For almost 30 years, he has hosted an annual fish fry "that every four years becomes a must-attend event for presidential hopefuls."[78][79]
Like other Democratic congressional leaders, Clyburn remained publicly uncommitted throughout most of the 2008 presidential primary elections. Despite being officially neutral, Clyburn voted for Obama in the South Carolina primary. Former President Bill Clinton accused Clyburn of being responsible for Hillary's 29-point defeat in South Carolina, while Clyburn criticized Bill Clinton's comments on race comparing Obama's win to that of Jesse Jackson.[56][81] Clyburn endorsed Obama on June 3, immediately before the Montana and South Dakota primaries. By that time, Obama's lead in pledged delegates was substantial enough that those two primaries could not undo it.[82][83]
Clyburn's endorsement of Joe Biden on February 26, 2020, three days before the South Carolina primary, was considered pivotal in the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries. Several analyses have determined the endorsement changed the trajectory of the race, due to Clyburn's influence over the state's African-Americans, who make up the majority of its Democratic electorate. Until Clyburn's endorsement, Biden had not won a single primary and had placed fourth, fifth, and a distant second in the Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada caucuses and primaries, respectively. Three days after the South Carolina primary, Biden took a delegate lead on Super Tuesday, and a month later he clinched the nomination.[85][86][87] Biden went on to win the 2020 Presidential election. Clyburn's endorsement of Biden, and subsequent political endorsements in later democratic primaries, have given him a reputation as a political "kingmaker".[88][89]
Richard Andrew Gephardt is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician who represented Missouri's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he was House majority leader from 1989 to 1995 and minority leader from 1995 to 2003. He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in 1988 and 2004. Gephardt was mentioned as a possible vice presidential nominee in 1988, 1992, 2000, 2004, and 2008.
The 2008 United States presidential election was the 56th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, and Joe Biden, the senior senator from Delaware, defeated the Republican ticket of John McCain, the senior senator from Arizona, and Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska. Obama became the first African American to be elected to the presidency. This was the first election since 1952 in which neither the incumbent president nor vice president was on the ballot, as well as the first election since 1928 in which neither ran for the nomination.
Diana Louise DeGette is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Colorado's 1st congressional district since 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, her district is based in Denver. DeGette was a Chief Deputy Whip from 2005 to 2019 and is the dean of Colorado's congressional delegation; she served as the Colorado State Representative for the 6th district from 1993 until her election to the U.S. House.
Steny Hamilton Hoyer is an American politician and retired attorney who has served as the U.S. representative for Maryland's 5th congressional district since 1981. He also served as House Majority Leader from 2007 to 2011 and again from 2019 to 2023. Hoyer first attained office through a special election on May 19, 1981. As of 2023, he is in his 22nd House term. His district includes a large swath of rural and suburban territory southeast of Washington, D.C. Hoyer is the dean of the Maryland congressional delegation and the most senior Democrat in the House.
Timothy John Ryan is an American politician who served as a U.S. representative for Ohio from 2003 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Ohio's 13th congressional district from 2013 to 2023, having previously represented Ohio's 17th congressional district from 2003 to 2013. Ryan's district included a large swath of northeastern Ohio, from Youngstown to Akron. He was the Democratic nominee in the 2022 United States Senate election in Ohio, which he lost to JD Vance.
George Kenneth Butterfield Jr. is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 1st congressional district from 2004 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected in a special election after the resignation of Frank Ballance.
From January 3 to June 3, 2008, voters of the Democratic Party chose their nominee for president in the 2008 United States presidential election. Senator Barack Obama of Illinois was selected as the nominee, becoming the first African American to secure the presidential nomination of any major political party in the United States. However, due to a close race between Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, the contest remained competitive for longer than expected; neither candidate received enough pledged delegates from state primaries and caucuses to achieve a majority, without endorsements from unpledged delegates (superdelegates).
Frank Joseph Pallone Jr. is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for New Jersey's 6th congressional district since 1988. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 3rd district from 1988 to 1993, is in the north-central part of the state and includes New Brunswick, Woodbridge Township, Perth Amboy, Sayreville, Edison, Piscataway and Asbury Park. Pallone is the ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
The following is a timeline of major events leading up to and immediately following the United States presidential election of 2008. The election was the 56th quadrennial United States presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008, but its significant events and background date back to about 2002. The Democratic Party nominee, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, defeated the Republican Party's nominee, Senator John McCain of Arizona.
This is the electoral history of Barack Obama. Obama served as the 44th president of the United States (2009–2017) and as a United States senator from Illinois (2005–2008).
The 2008 United States presidential election in South Carolina took place on November 4, 2008, and was part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose eight representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
Gregory Weldon Meeks is an American lawyer and politician who has been a U.S. representative from New York since 1998. He is a member of the Democratic Party and chaired the House Committee on Foreign Affairs from 2021 to 2023. He still sits on the committee as ranking member.
Joseph Kendrick Cunningham is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for South Carolina's 1st congressional district from 2019 to 2021. The district includes much of South Carolina's share of the Atlantic Coast, from Charleston to Hilton Head Island.
A leadership election was held by the United States House of Representatives Democratic Caucus before the beginning of the 116th United States Congress on January 3, 2019. The election determined who will be nominated by the caucus for the speakership election as well as who would occupy other leadership positions within the House Democratic Caucus. The following positions were nominated or elected on November 29: Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, House Majority Leader, House Majority Whip, House Assistant Majority Leader, Democratic Caucus Chair, and Democratic Caucus Vice Chair. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair, the Policy and Communications Committee's Chair and its three Co-Chairs, Junior Caucus Representative and Freshman Class Representative were elected the next day, and a third co-chair was added to the Steering and Policy Committee by the Leader.
A leadership election was held by the United States House of Representatives Democratic Caucus on November 17, 2006. The election determined who would be nominated by the caucus for Speaker of the House as well as who would occupy other leadership positions within the House Democratic Caucus in the 110th United States Congress. The following positions were nominated or elected on November 29: Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, House Majority Leader, House Majority Whip, House Assistant Majority Leader, Democratic Caucus Chair, and Democratic Caucus vice-Chair.
Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI) is an American advocacy group that supports pro-Israel policies within the United States Democratic Party.
The 2020 South Carolina Democratic presidential primary took place on February 29, 2020, and was the fourth nominating contest in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election. The South Carolina primary was an open primary and awarded 64 delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of which 54 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the results of the primary. Former vice president Joe Biden and senator Bernie Sanders were the only candidates to earn delegates. Biden won 48.7% of the popular vote and notably placed first in every county in the state; it was his first ever win in a presidential primary. Sanders came in second place and won 19.8% of the popular vote. Businessman Tom Steyer, who had staked his entire campaign on the state, placed third but did not surpass the threshold and dropped out of the race, endorsing Biden.
Shalanda Delores Young is an American political advisor who is the current director of the Office of Management and Budget, previously serving in an acting capacity from March 24, 2021, through March 17, 2022 concurrently as deputy director. She previously worked for the United States House Committee on Appropriations as its staff director.
Daniel Rickenmann is an American businessman and politician, serving as the Mayor of Columbia, South Carolina.
↑ Clyburn, James (2015). Blessed experiences: genuinely southern, proudly black. University of South Carolina Press. ISBN978-1611175592. OCLC893457675.
↑ Talks on Alexander v SC State NAACP Amicus Briefs, case before US Supreme Court on October 11, now available online". League of Women Voters of South Carolina. October 8, 2023. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
↑ Montellaro, Zach (May 15, 2023). "Supreme Court to hear racial redistricting case from South Carolina". Politico. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
↑ "Alexander v. South Carolina Conference of the NAACP Oral Argument". C-Span. October 11, 2023. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
↑ "Membership". Congressional Black Caucus. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
↑ "Our Members". U.S. House of Representatives International Conservation Caucus. Archived from the original on August 1, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
↑ "Membership". Congressional Arts Caucus. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
