South Carolina Senate Election

Republican incumbent: Lindsey Graham

Democratic candidate: Bob Conley

Graham, 53, has been a senator since 2003. He was in the U.S. House from 1995 to 2003. Graham first drew national attention when he was one of the House managers of the Senate impeachment trial of President Clinton in 1999. He had been a prosecutor and legislator at the state level, before he went to Washington.

Conley, 43, a commercial pilot and flight instructor, is running for public office for the first time.

Polls listed in Real Clear Politics indicate that Graham is ahead by anywhere from nine to 14 points.

Here is a report in The State, a Columbia, SC, newspaper, regarding a debate between these two candidates over the weekend. It seems as though Conley is trying to position himself to the right of Graham who, by South Carolina standards, is moderate.

Republican Strom Thurmond and Democrat Fritz Hollings were Senate colleagues from South Carolina for 38 years. Since Republican James DeMint succeeded Hollings, in 2005, both seats have been in the Republican column.

Before Thurmond switched from the Democratic Party in 1964, South Carolina had been about as rabidly Democratic as any southern state.