The other South Carolina campaign

His primary may be over, but S.C. Republican chairman Katon Dawson has another election in sight. And not just in November.

He's one of a handful of state party leaders being mentioned as the GOP's next national chairman. Party officials won't choose a new chairman until June of 2009, and Dawson is careful not to be too blatant in his interest.

"We’re not actively running at this time, and it wouldn't be proper," he said today. However, he added, "I'd always be interested."

For months, the S.C. party has sent reporters a daily digest of political news. At the top are media references that mention or quote Dawson. And in the weeks before the Jan. 19 primary, it was a long list.

It may not hurt Dawson's chances that the party's nominee influences the selection of a chairman, especially if that nominee becomes president. And if Sen. John McCain wins the nomination, he could owe South Carolina a favor for keeping his early momentum going.

Dawson and other S.C. Republicans like to point out that since 1980, everybody who's won their primary has gone on to win nomination. If it's McCain, that 28-year streak will continue.

"Looks like it's going to be close to 32 next time we brag about it," Dawson says.

Flying 'Republican air?'

South Carolina Republicans are bringing more than GOP presidential candidates to the state this week. They're bringing the people who cover them.

State Chairman Katon Dawson will fly aboard a chartered Boeing 727 to Manchester, New Hampshire, tomorrow morning and bring back some 80 journalists who will cover Thursday night's GOP debate in Myrtle Beach.

Dawson said the journalists are each paying around $391 but acknowledged the party is subsidizing the trip. He says passengers include journalists from the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CNN and Fox News.

"We understand that it's important to have the media covering the event," he says. "We’re just glad to have them in South Carolina and we’re gonna do interviews all the way back."

SC GOP: Thinning the field?

Four months from now, the bloated Republican presidential field could look a lot slimmer. That's because in part of a decision S.C. Republicans expect to make in the not-too-distant future.

Back in May, 10 GOP hopefuls attended the party's debate in Columbia. There were some good one-liners, but as in other early debates, the big field allowed little time to challenge candidates or focus on the big issues. That will change when South Carolina holds its next debate Jan. 10 in Myrtle Beach.

That debate is scheduled nine days before the state's "First in the South" primary on Jan. 19. Party officials plan to winnow the field by setting what chairman Katon Dawson calls "certain thresholds."

Those criteria most likely would entail a candidate attaining a specified level of support in state and national polls. And be assured, it would be higher than the 1% polling the party required of candidates in May. The only one excluded from that debate was Republican John Cox, Chicago businessman who sued Fox News for a place on stage. He lost.

A nationally televised debate with three or four candidates would give those candidates a welcome boost four days before the Iowa caucuses and five days before the S.C. and (as of Tuesday) Michigan primaries. By the same token, any candidate still in the "second tier" but hoping for a last-minute breakthrough would be disappointed.