South Carolina Democrat Jaime Harrison told the Washington Post Tuesday, he is interested in becoming the Democratic National Committee Chair.
The Yale graduate and former high school teacher told the Post he’s not only interested in the position, but he has the support of House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), a powerful figure in the lower chamber and the man largely responsible for President-elect Joe Biden’s decision to pick Kamala Harris as his vice president.
“I can’t betray any conversations with Whip, but I know that it’s something that he seems to think that I could do. I’d put it that way,” Harrison told the Post according to The Hill.
Current DNC Chair Tom Perez is not expected to stay in the role and Biden can pick his replacement. Harrison and Biden have not discussed the role, but Harrison said if the position was offered to him he’d seriously consider it.
“If that’s something that they are interested in me doing, I’ll definitely take a good look,” Harrison said.
Harrison is a former lobbyist and chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party who ran to chair the DNC in 2016, ultimately dropping out and throwing his support behind Perez. Earlier this year, Harrison was largely unknown nationally as he challenged Lindsey Graham for his Senate seat, but after the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, Harrison saw a huge influx of money, turning the race into a dogfight.
Harrison’s campaign saw so much money coming in throughout the summer that Graham wanted to investigate where it came from. As Election Day drew closer, Harrison started to gain in polls leading to Graham literally begging for money on Fox News numerous times.
Graham eventually won his seat, but Harrison gained a ton of media attention as a rising star in the Democratic ranks and told the Post that others in the party have reached out to him about taking the position.
“The past few days, I’ve got a lot of text messages from folks, who are like, I heard Mr. Clyburn or I heard James Carville mention you,” Harrison told the Post. “Listen, I’m flattered. But you know, at the end of the day it’s about who the president-elect decides to be the next chair.”