THE LAST MAN STANDING
The 'inside story' of a Generation Xer's campaign against an old-school politician who had held power and public office since the segregation era of 1962. Backroom deals and outright fraud made sure that when the final votes were counted, she would narrowly lose her bid to become the only female Republican Senator in South Carolina.
by Joseph I R Calhoun

Saturday, the final weekend before the 2004 election. Bush and Kerry signs were everywhere mixed in at the Marlboro County 'Pig Pickin' thrown for Senate Candidate Katherine Jenerette. Her supporters, a mix of both Republican's and Democrats who were ready for a change, were confident this election was hers. When the 35 year-old Persian Gulf War veteran and former U.S. Congressional aide had stepped up to take on one of the most powerful state Senators eight months earlier, the political 'gurus' looked on her race as a long shot. But, by early October both her supporters and the latest pollsters knew better. The Republican candidate was bound to win the seat and Democrat Senator Dick Elliott was on his way out of office. Unknown to the public, that weekend, her opponents immediately began a last minute scramble to confuse the voters with a ID switch of parties. The redrawn district lines made Senate seat 28 a Republican seat. But, too much was riding on this race and there was too much power and influence to be lost for the 70 year-old real estate mogol, Dick Elliott, and his supporters to let go of the Senate seat easily. The had made their deals and did their homework; with only hours until the polls opened, they pulled out all the stops...(continued)