Posted: Jun. 11 3:36 p.m.
Updated: Jun. 11 4:55 p.m.
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Democrats didn't put much effort into recruiting a big-name candidate to take on Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham in November. Now, it's possible their chosen politician will be tough for many in the party to support.
Bob Conley, who wears his hair in a 1960s style that earned him the nickname "Flat-Top Bob," voted for Ron Paul in the Republican primary, ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for an Indiana state House seat and backs GOP positions on abortion, same-sex marriage and illegal immigration.
"We've nominated a Republican in a Democratic primary," attorney Michael Cone, Conley's opponent, said Wednesday. A day earlier, Conley appeared to win their primary race by less than 1,000 votes, out of more than 146,000 ballots cast. Because the margin was so small, an automatic recount will be held - likely on Monday.
Cone, who spent about $3,000 on the campaign after filing fees, said he blamed himself for not making Conley's positions better known.
"As of right now it looks like I won't be the nominee," he said. "I think it's a very sad turn of events for Democrats."
A spokeswoman for Conley, an engineer from North Myrtle Beach, said he wouldn't respond to reporters' questions Wednesday. The campaign posted a statement on its Web site saying Conley "fully expects any recount will confirm his victory, but will await official results before making further public statements."
Last month, Conley explained in an interview that he walked away from the Republican Party years ago out of frustration over trade and immigration policies and the Iraq invasion. He contends that conservative positions on social policies, some of which stem from his Catholic beliefs, are valued in South Carolina and are not owned by Republicans.
"That party can go to the devil," he said.
Don Fowler, a former Democratic National Committee chairman whose wife is the head of South Carolina's Democratic Party, said he didn't have a clue about Cone or Conley. "That's the best example of random voting I've ever heard of," Fowler said.
Combined, the candidates spent less than $25,000, hardly enough to make themselves known. Graham spent more than $3 million in his primary run against a long shot challenger.
Fowler said he isn't worried about Conley's GOP leanings.
"That's the Democratic Party. We welcome anybody," he said.
Political scientists said that Democrats will look to presidential candidate Barack Obama, not Graham's opponent, to bring out the vote to help in campaigns against Statehouse Republicans.
Democrats are "smiling cats," said Dave Woodard, a Clemson University political scientist and GOP consultant who described the Obama-John McCain race as "American Idol against the likes of Rumpelstiltskin."
"They've got everything going for them. They got the money. They've got a top of the ticket that is phenomenal," Woodard said of Democrats.
Furman political scientist Danielle Vinson said Democrats may simply ignore their Senate nominee altogether and vote for Graham. The state's voters are noted for ballot splitting, she said. And plenty of Democrats crossed over Tuesday to vote for Graham in the primary because they know him, she said.
If Conley is the nominee, Graham said he's not concerned about him trying to run as a conservative candidate. After all, Graham noted that he won the GOP primary with two-thirds of the vote over Buddy Witherspoon, a retired orthodontist and former Republican National Committee member who accused the incumbent of being too liberal.
Graham also took an early shot at Conley, saying he didn't know who his opponent is.
"But from what I can tell, he doesn't represent moderation. I represent a brand of conservatism that you will feel conformable with - a brand of conservatism that will bring out the best of who we are as a state," he said.
