The Nifty Fifty House Party - Part XI: South Carolina

As ten states have now passed, we can now breathe some more. But there is no quitting the bullet train to November, and our next state takes us to one that defines Southern Hospitality...

SOUTH CAROLINA

The Palmetto State may have been the eighth state to join the Union, but it was the first to secede to the Confederacy (and the beginning of the Civil War courtesy of Fort Sumter). It was originally part of the colony known as The Carolinas until a 1712 split that created this state and North Carolina. The state is home to a significant African-American population and is largely Southern Baptist, and before 1830, South Carolina also had North America's largest Jewish population. For sports fans, there is much to offer, albeit outside of the professional realm. The Clemson Tigers and South Carolina Gamecocks draw very large number of spectators to their football games, and smaller schools (think The Citadel, Winthrop and the College of Charleston) have competitive programs as well. South Carolina is home to a multitude of golf courses, many for the leisure set, but PGA and LPGA events have been held here historically. Water activities, from surfing to shrimping, are also commonplace. The state gave us Smokin' Joe Frazier, Althea Gibson, Jesse Jackson, James Brown, and Stephen Colbert. Oddly enough, South Carolina elects its Adjutant general, tapes all its DUI videotapes, and operates its own school buses.

South Carolina, as goes with the rest of the South, was a pillar in the Democrats' Solid South until the 1960s following the passage of the Civil Rights Act. Jimmy Carter was the last president to win the state, in 1976. As the national Democrats became more liberal, the state began to slowly shift to the Republicans, yet it did not come overnight, as the state was filled with (and continues to be filled with) conservative Democrats in some areas. U.S. Senator and centenarian Strom Thurmond was one such example, switching from Democrat to Republican in 1964. Today, the Republicans dominate politics in the state, with a Republican Governor, two Republican Senators, a Republican majority in the House, and Republican control of the South Carolina General Assembly. However, the state's large African-American population could put the state, and a couple of congressional seats in play with Barack Obama at the top of the ticket.

District 1 (S-Factor 9.5 GOP): Four-term incumbent Henry Brown represents this coastal stretch of the state from Charleston up to Myrtle Beach. It has been in the GOP column since 1980, but wealthy philanthropist Linda Ketner is looking to change that. Already, Ketner has amassed individual donations on par with Brown and has a rather significant amount of cash on hand ($382K). Brown, though has even more cash stockpiled (nearly $1.3 million). A fifth of the district's population is African-American, but the significant Republican edge should help Brown. Prediction: Solid GOP.

District 2 (S-Factor 6.3 GOP): Joe Wilson has for the most part had no trouble winning his largely Republican district stretching from Columbia and its suburbs to Hilton Head Island. His Democrat opponent this time will be Iraq War Veteran Rob Miller, who has raised a respectable amount ($296K to Wilson's $408K) but still faces uphill odds. Prediction: Solid GOP.

District 3 (S-Factor 13.5 GOP): A largely rural and socially conservative district, the home district of Clemson University has been in Republican hands since the Republican Revolution of 1994 (when eventual U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham took the seat). Incumbent Gresham Barrett should be safe from Democrat challenger and USAF vet Jane Dyer. Prediction: Solid GOP.

District 4 (S-Factor 14.0 GOP): Bob Inglis represents the most Republican district in South Carolina, home to a growing base of business conservatives that comprises of research firms and automotive manufacturers and social conservatives from the ultra-conservative Bob Jones University. The five-term Republican from Travelers Rest (a rather ironic name for a congressman's place of residence), who served three terms from 1993 to 1999 and came back in 2005 when Jim DeMint left to run for the U.S. Senate, will be facing retired college administrator and Vietnam vet Paul Corden, who had to battle through a Democrat primary -- and runoff which he won last night -- to earn the nomination. Prediction: Solid GOP.

District 5 (S-Factor 5.3 GOP): Granted, this is a conservative rural district with suburbs on both ends (Charlotte, N.C. in the north, Columbia in the south) and a large black population (32 percent). It has never elected a Republican since Reconstruction, and House Budget Committee Chair John Spratt should be favored over college professor Albert Spencer in what is mostly a Republican-leaning district largely because of suburban Charlotte's York County. Prediction: Solid DEM.

District 6 (S-Factor 11.8 DEM): House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn represents the bluest district in the state, a majority-black one stretching from Columbia to North Charleston and Florence. Businesswoman Nancy Harrelson is the GOP nominee. Prediction: Solid DEM.

Next stop: Maine.