Jim Clyburn, the 85‑year‑old Democrat who has represented South Carolina’s 6th congressional district since 1993, told state party officials on Thursday that he will run for an 18th term in the U.S. House of Representatives. “ I’m here today to say I do believe that I’m very well equipped and healthy enough to move into the next term, trying to do the things that are necessary to continue that pursuit of perfection,” Clyburn said at the party headquarters in Columbia, adding that he will run “a very vigorous campaign.”
Clyburn, who served as majority whip and assistant Democratic leader, is the last member of the former Democratic leadership team still seeking reelection. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Majority Leader Steny Hoyer have announced they will retire at the end of their current terms. If Democrats regain control of the House in November, Clyburn could become an influential elder‑statesman, potentially serving alongside Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the first Black speaker‑designate, should the party win the chamber.
The decision runs counter to calls within the party for “generational change.” Clyburn said he consulted his three daughters before announcing his candidacy. His daughter Mignon Clyburn, a former member of the Federal Communications Commission, expressed concern about the political vitriol he might face, but ultimately gave her blessing.
Clyburn’s 2024 reelection was secured by a margin of more than 20 percentage points. He noted that the filing window for South Carolina’s 2026 elections opens on March 1 and closes on March 30, with the state primary slated for June 9. Should he win an 18th term, he would become the longest‑serving South Carolinian ever in the U.S. House, surpassing the nearly four‑decade tenures of former senators Strom Thurmond and Fritz Hollings.
When asked whether the 18th term might be his last, Clyburn called it “an open question,” adding, “I’m looking forward to the day that I can spend more time reading, writing and playing golf, and so this could very well be my last term—or it could very well not be.”