Why Jim Clyburn Is Staying in Congress While His Octogenarian Peers Step Back

When other veteran lawmakers opt to retire, signs point to Rep. Jim Clyburn, 85, running for reelection.

As intrigue rises around whether the South Carolina veteran lawmaker will run for his 18th term, four people close to Clyburn who requested anonymity told NOTUS they anticipate he will seek another term in 2026.

Clyburn’s decision-making comes as Democrats project confidence about their chances to retake the House in November. A power shift would give the party the chance to elect the first Black Speaker and potentially elevate some 2028 presidential contenders, tempting the Democratic powerbroker to stay in the political arena.

“He usually creates his own rules and marches to the beat of his own drummer,” said former state Rep. Bakari Sellers.

Clyburn, the former House Democratic whip, served in leadership alongside former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Speaker Nancy Pelosi for about 16 years. As the other two leaders announced their retirement at the end of this term, Clyburn’s moves signal he is preparing to gear up for another campaign.

A person close to Clyburn said it’s likely he runs for reelection, but he has time to make the final decision with the filing deadline at the end of March. As a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and top leader, he is eager to remain in Congress to serve alongside House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is poised to serve as the first Black speaker, two people told NOTUS.

“I think that it closes the circle,” Jaime Harrison, a former Clyburn aide who unsuccessfully ran for Senate in South Carolina in 2020, said.

Another sign that Clyburn will run for reelection: His campaign sent a fundraising email Monday that said “the first deadline of 2026 – and the first of the election year – when I will be on the ballot along with Democrats across the country facing tough, must-win races is coming up.”

“It’s my privilege to represent the people of South Carolina’s 6th District,” Clyburn continued in the email obtained by NOTUS. “I’ve dedicated my life and my time in Congress to making our state and our country more equitable for all Americans, and I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished with my Democratic colleagues in Congress.”

“We are steadfast in our efforts to put people over politics – but Trump and MAGA extremists are doing everything they can to take away our rights and make things harder for the American people,” he added. “Everything we are doing is made possible by supporters like you, so please – contribute to my re-election campaign before the first deadline of the election year.”

Clyburn has not officially announced his run for reelection, and in 2024, he said he would run again in mid-February. He has until March 30 to file for reelection. Clyburn’s office did not respond to a request for comment, and the congressman has repeated that he has not yet decided whether to run again.

Although the Democratic Party has wrestled with calls for generational change since former President Joe Biden’s failed 2024 campaign, several prominent octogenarian House Democrats are running for reelection rather than retiring including Reps. Maxine Waters, Emanuel Cleaver and Doris Matsui.

Clyburn acknowledged the wave of Democratic retirements in a December interview with The Post and Courier. “It gets you thinking,” he said.

Clyburn’s colleagues told NOTUS that the congressman remains sharp and spry. His acuity and continued heavy involvement in national politics have led many South Carolina politicos to believe that he will run again, they said.

“Based on my conversations with him, I think he is running,” Harrison told NOTUS. “I would not think anything otherwise, nothing — there’s no indicator that he’s going to say, ‘I’m not going to run again.’”

Another person familiar with Clyburn agreed.

“We’d like to keep him because he’s very important to the Democratic Party here,” Carol Fowler, a Democratic National Committee member from South Carolina, told NOTUS.

“If I had to bet, I would bet that he will stay at least one more term,” she added.

“He is still very physically and mentally healthy and strong, so I don’t see any reason that he would be leaving,” Fowler, who has known Clyburn since the 1970s, said.

Clyburn’s district is a safe Democratic seat, and he would be well positioned to win another term. Potential Democratic challengers have not signaled an intention to run against Clyburn. The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan handicapper, says that the district favors Democrats by 13 percentage points.

Some Republicans are pushing to redraw South Carolina’s congressional map mid-decade, which has thrown the shape of the political makeup of Clyburn’s district into question. However, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said he is not interested in mid-decade redistricting.

South Carolina political operative and Clyburn’s former communications director Amanda Loveday told NOTUS that Clyburn “absolutely remains popular” in South Carolina and suggested his legacy is not something that Democrats in the state take lightly.

“I think he is a revered political figure in South Carolina, in and out of his district,” Loveday said.

Loveday acknowledged the push inside the party to recruit new leaders. She added, “However, something that is said very frequently in South Carolina is that when Jim Clyburn does not run for reelection, the person who takes his seat does not become Jim Clyburn.”

Clyburn stepping down would create a major power vacuum in the Palmetto State. The congressman is often seen internally as the “third senator” because of how he has accrued seniority and sway as the state’s only Democrat in Congress.

“At this point, the shoes that he leaves aren’t big shoes. They’re humongous,” Harrison said. “And nobody in the state, including yours truly, wouldn’t come any close to filling them.”

But Clyburn stepping back from politics would also generate a major hole on the national stage. Known as a “kingmaker” — a nickname Clyburn has said he does not enjoy — the congressman famously shepherded Democratic candidates through South Carolina’s political scene ahead of the early presidential primary date. Clyburn endorsed Biden in 2020, who had a string of losses in other key early contests. Clyburn’s endorsement was credited with supercharging his White House bid.

Clyburn does not appear to be shying away from that role.

While promoting his book “The First Eight: A Personal History of the Pioneering Black Congressmen Who Shaped a Nation,” Clyburn joined Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro — and expected 2028 presidential candidate — in Philadelphia in December. Clyburn introduced another likely contender, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, at a South Carolina event last summer, saying. “I feel good about his chances.”

Clyburn will be 87 years old when South Carolina holds its Democratic primary in 2028.

“Clyburn still has a lot more energy than most people I know, half his age, and he’s still sharp as a tack and his wisdom and experience, I know that Hakeem has relied upon when tackling some very, very tough issues,” Harrison said.

If Clyburn decides not to run, plenty of Democratic candidates are eager to replace him.

One of Clyburn’s three daughters has long been considered a frontrunner to replace Clyburn when he vacates his seat, with a few sources naming Jennifer Clyburn-Reed as the one to watch. But there are several others rumored to be eyeing that seat, including Harrison and Sellers.

“People believe that Congressman Clyburn deserves a farewell, he deserves a swan song because he has contributed just as much, then, if not more than most, to our great state’s history,” Sellers said. “The next congressperson is going to be somebody that stands on his shoulders but with the vision towards the future.”