Two South Carolina congressional seats have become competitive

[KingFlorez]

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_C7s5GzEKNYQ/SPpDrqpVTaI/AAAAAAAABRw/M4wsSbhwiYE/s400/Ketner+Miller.jpg

It would be great if Democrats could pickup seats here. I didn't see anything about this posted, so I thought I would put a little attention on these races.

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000002976433&parm1=2&cpage=3

• South Carolina’s 1st District (New Rating: Leans Republican. Old Rating: Safe Republican)

Few races better illustrate the Democrats’ aggressive effort to put longtime Republican congressional strongholds into play by recruiting enterprising challengers. Democrats for years effectively ceded South Carolina’s 1st District, which takes in part of Charleston then hugs the coast to the North Carolina border. Henry E. Brown Jr. , the four-term Republican incumbent, won with 60 percent in 2006 and didn’t even draw a Democratic challenger in 2004. But this year, the Democrats nominated businesswoman Linda Ketner, who is said to be running a well-disciplined campaign — aided by a stunning fundraising advantage.

Ketner reported raising $1.6 million through Sept. 30, nearly doubling the $861,000 Brown raised by the same date. Although $700,000 of Ketner’s receipts came from loans she made to her own campaign, she nonetheless outraised Brown among individual contributors by $829,000 to $551,000.

Brown’s campaign for re-election this time is complicated by Obama’s appeal at the top of the Democratic ticket to African-American voters, most of whom are Democrats and who make up about a fifth of the district’s electorate. Referring to incumbent Brown, Lee Bandy, a longtime political reporter for South Carolina’s The State newspaper, said, “If blacks turn out in the numbers we think they’re going to turn out, I think Henry could really be in trouble.”

• South Carolina’s 2nd District (New Rating: Republican Favored. Old Rating: Safe Republican)

The race in the 2nd District, in a swath of central and south South Carolina that hasn’t seen a competitive House contest in years, truly came out of nowhere. But Republican Rep. Joe Wilson , who is seeking a fourth full term, is getting a tougher than usual challenge from Democrat Rob Miller, an Iraq War veteran, whom DCCC officials added to their “Emerging Races” roster, a precursor to the Red to Blue program.

Though Wilson piled up $951,000 in receipts through Sept. 30, Miller raised a total of $497,000 that was respectable for a long-shot incumbent facing stiff partisan odds in his district. Here, too, the Obama factor could come into play, as more than a quarter of the district’s residents are black. Whites make up a minority of the population in four of the district’s 10 counties.

[rpannier]

1. We need more stories like this

Thanks for posting it.

[brer cat]

2. Thanks for posting.

Most of us don't have the time to follow all the congressional races. Best of luck to both D candidates!!