COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, the dean of South Carolina’s Democrats, said Thursday that he will run for an 18th House term, a move that could position him as an influential elder statesman in Congress if his party regains the majority in November.
The decision by the 85-year-old lawmaker cuts against calls for generational change within the party. Clyburn is one of several veteran Democrats running again instead of stepping aside for younger politicians whose frustration increased in the wake of President Joe Biden's failed reelection campaign.
“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 state party headquarters in Columbia. “And so I will run a very vigorous campaign.”
Clyburn is among the oldest Democrats serving in Washington, and the only member of the last Democratic leadership team who is looking to stick around. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and former Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland both plan to retire at the end of their current terms.
Clyburn said that he sought counsel from his three daughters before making his announcement. One of them — Mignon Clyburn, a former member of the Federal Communications Commission — said she was concerned about the political vitriol that her father would face in Washington.
“Her interest was in her daddy and what she thought I might be subjected to,” Clyburn said. “When Mignon finally had decided that she could live with it, I’m here."
Clyburn said he heard from another woman that "'we don’t listen to them people up there, and you should not. You should listen to the people down here, and we don’t want you to leave.’ And so I’m responding to the people that are here.”
Clyburn served as majority whip and assistant Democratic leader. Remaining in Congress for another term could give him a chance to serve alongside the first Black speaker of the House as Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York is in line for the gavel should Democrats win control. Clyburn for many years was the highest-ranking Black lawmaker in the House.
On Thursday, asked about the prospect of being able to advise Jeffries, Clyburn said the two spoke recently about a possible working relationship in the next Congress.
“He expressed an interest in my being a part of his leadership, if we were to take the House back," Clyburn said. “It made me feel necessary.”
Four years ago, when Clyburn announced his bid for a 16th term, he told The Associated Press that he intended to keep campaigning as long as his health and support from his family remained stalwart.
“I’ve told them, if you ever see that I need to go to the rocking chair or spend my spare time on the golf course, let me know,” he said describing his daughters' counsel.
Clyburn won his 2024 reelection by more than 20 percentage points. First elected in 1992, he represents the district that sweeps from areas around the capital of Columbia through rural central and eastern counties down to Charleston.
Should he serve an 18th term, Clyburn would become the longest-serving South Carolinian ever in the U.S. House. Time horizons are longer for the state’s U.S. senators, two of whom — Republican Strom Thurmond and Democrat Fritz Hollings — served 48 years and nearly 39 years, respectively.
Filing for election in this year’s elections in South Carolina opens Monday and closes March 30. South Carolina’s primary elections will be held June 9.
Whenever Clyburn does leave office, the competition to be his successor will be fierce. He is the only Democrat representing his state in Washington.
As to whether his 18th term could be his last, Clyburn called that an “open question.”
“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 to my last term,” he said. “And it could very well not be.”
Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP
Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., signs his candidacy paperwork to seek an 18th U.S. House term during an event at the South Carolina Democratic Party headquarters, Thursday, March 12, 2026, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard)
Former President Joe Biden embraces Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., before speaking to the South Carolina Democratic Party on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)
Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., speaks ahead of former President Joe Biden, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio State elevated its chief academic officer to president Thursday, moving swiftly past the abrupt resignation of former President Walter “Ted” Carter Jr. following revelations about his “inappropriate relationship” with the female host of a podcast for military veterans.
Trustees voted unanimously to appoint Executive Vice President and Provost Ravi Bellamkonda as Carter’s successor — bypassing the traditional nationwide search — and Ohio State's fourth president since 2020.
The trustees want what's best for the university, board chair John Zeiger said.
“The right leader is already at our university," he said during a special board meeting, “and his vast experience, his personal values and management skills, his strong record here at Ohio State and his ability to inspire excellence in all those around him give this board great confidence” that Bellamkonda is the right fit.
Days earlier, the board of trustees confronted Carter about a tip from outside the university. He disclosed that he had “made a mistake in allowing inappropriate access to Ohio State leadership,” according to his public statement, and submitted his resignation. The retired Navy vice admiral was just two years into a five-year contract under which he made more than $1.1 million a year, plus bonuses and residency at Ohio State’s president’s mansion.
He did not elaborate on the nature of the relationship and his statement indicated he and his wife, Lynda, are still together.
Expressing surprise and disappointment, Zeiger accepted his resignation Sunday and the university said it was investigating Carter’s “inappropriate relationship with someone seeking public resources to support her personal business.”
JobsOhio, the state’s privatized economic development office, said Carter’s resignation was “possibly connected” to his relationship to Krisanthe Vlachos, host of what was supposed to be a four-episode veterans’ podcast pilot, The Callout, for which it paid $15,000 an episode. Only one episode was delivered and the state is trying to claw back its $60,000, the office said.
“Ohio State is a trusted partner and Admiral Carter, sharing our passion for military and veterans, recommended The Callout Podcast as an opportunity to build and engage a military and veteran audience in Ohio,” the office posted on X, “and connect them to the massive job opportunities coming to Ohio’s super sectors like advanced aerospace/defense and energy.”
VetEarnUSA LLC, an Ohio business registered by Vlachos on Dec. 20, is part of the investigation, said Ohio State spokesperson Ben Johnson. She listed the address of the operation as that of WOSU Public Media. WOSU has said Vlachos had a contract with them to record her podcast inside their studios in Columbus. The business filing also listed a St. Louis ZIP code. The Associated Press left phone and email messages seeking comment from Vlachos.
Carter was a guest on the first podcast and JobsOhio said it supplied Vlachos a vendor pass to attend the Consumer Electronics Show - CES, to “meet people and identify angles for the remaining three podcasts.”
The office further said it paid Vlachos $10,000 toward a theater production for veterans called “Last Out: Elegy of a Green Beret.” It was part of the office's Hometown Heroes program, which brings free programming to military, veterans and their families.
Lastly, Vlachos had submitted a proposal to JobsOhio, the Ohio State president's office and others for a mobile job-search app for Ohio veterans. “We conducted due diligence and decided not to move forward with any investment,” the office said of the project.
JobsOhio asserts that it followed all appropriate protocols in its partnerships with Carter's office and Vlachos, and that there were “no irregularities in our contracting or our vetting process.”
After the board meeting, Bellamkonda told reporters that stakeholders are certain to have a spectrum of reactions to Carter’s swift departure and potential misconduct, and he pledged to move forward and hold the university to a high standard.
The university brought Carter on board in 2023 from the University of Nebraska system. He is also a former superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy and he attended the Navy Fighter Weapons School, known as Top Gun.
Bellamkonda, a bioengineer and neuroscientist, joined the university after holding leadership, research or teaching positions at Emory University, Duke, Georgia Tech and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. He earned his Ph.D. in medical science and biomaterials at Brown.
He pledged to redouble the university's commitment to excellence.
“Looking ahead, knowing our collective strengths, I promise you this: Together we will take on hard things that are worth doing,” he said. “Hard things that are worth doing in athletics, in healthcare, in education, in fact in all the things we do. We will lead and we will not be afraid to lead.”
This story has been corrected to show the new president is Ravi Bellamkonda, not Ballamkonda.
The Ohio State University head football coach Ryan Day, left, shakes hands with the university's new president, Ravi Bellamkonda, at Ohio State University on Thursday, March 12, 2026, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos)
New Ohio State University President Ravi Bellamkonda speaks at the university on Thursday, March 12, 2026, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos)
FILE - This May 8, 2019, file photo, shows a sign for Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Angie Wang, File)
