It is unfortunate that most of these people will go home losers tomorrow night. But, that is the very nature of the beast we call elections! Regardless, we should be thankful to every candidate who sacrificed themselves to give us a choice of who to vote for at the polls tomorrow. God bless America!

Before I delve into an analysis of who I think will prevail in the four major statewide races tomorrow, I have some awards to hand out.

For the purposes of this article, let’s call these awards the “Jimmys” (I know, it’s not very original, but it works!):

THE ‘EVERYBODY’S DOING IT’ MOST OVERUSED POLITICAL SLOGAN
“Not A Politician”
Larry Richter For Attorney General
Jon Ozmint For Attorney General
Mark Sanford For Governor

(Whether they like it or not, ALL of these candidates running are politicians!)

THE ‘HEY, LOOK AT ME’ POLITICAL STUNT AWARD
Ken Wingate For Governor

(I liken Ken Wingate to the school bully. He tried to beat up on a supposedly weaker opponent in Charlie Condon. Wingate challenged Condon to a debate, but Condon refused. When Wingate didn’t get his way, he pitched a fit and started debating a cardboard cutout of Condon. Let me call the wahhhmbulance for you and your fledgling campaign, Mr. Wingate!)

THE ‘WHAT WAS HE THINKING’ WORST CAMPAIGN SLOGAN
“Make Your Vote County”
by Spartanburg County Council Chairman candidate Jeff Horton

(Can I make my vote “county” more by voting for the other guy?!)

THE DAN QUAYLE SPELLING BEE AWARD
Larry Richter For Attorney General

(If you can’t even spell the name of the state you live in right, then why should you be elected the next Attorney General?!)

THE HO-HUM QUIETEST CAMPAIGN AWARD
Bill Branton for Governor
All the Lt. Governor candidates

(Just who the heck is Bill Branton anyway? And can you name all of the candidates for Lt. Governor in less 5 seconds? Time’s up!)

THE GOTTA GET OUT ANOTHER PRESS RELEASE OVERKILL AWARD
Reb Sutherland For Governor

(Reb discharges a press release to let you know she went to the bathroom and that it is her opponents’ fault for leaving the seat up! A “true Republican” would have put it down, you know!)

THE SQUEAKY CLEAN CANDIDATE AWARD
Jon Ozmint For Attorney General

(While there is plenty of dirt on the other candidates, Jon Ozmint has probably never even received a speeding ticket in his life!)

THE ‘MY PROPERTY TAX PLAN IS BETTER THAN YOURS’ AWARD
Bob Peeler For Governor
Jim Miles For Governor

(Within weeks after Charlie Condon released his popular property tax elimination plan, both Peeler and Miles came out with similar plans of their own! Me too, me too!)

THE ‘I CAN PANDER TO THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT’ TASTELESS CAMPAIGN AD AWARD
Bob Peeler For Governor talking about God in last-minute radio and tv ads

(A real Christian doesn’t have to brag about his faith! People already know it about you if it is genuine!)

THE I’VE GOT NOTHING BETTER TO DO, HOW ABOUT RUN FOR OFFICE AWARD
Henry McMaster For Attorney General

(After John Hawkins dropped out of the race for Attorney General, McMaster saw a chance to escape the trouble he created for the state Republican Party. He filed to become a candidate on the very last day! What is more laughable is that he thinks he’s the frontrunner of this race, too!)

THE EENIE MEENIE MINEY MOE AWARD
Rick Eckstrom For Comptroller General

(Desperate to run for any political office as a late entry, Eckstrom chose the Comptroller General’s race. This did not sit too well with supporters of Deb Sofield, who was running unopposed before Eckstrom slid into the race! Maybe Eckstrom should have run for dogcatcher!)

THE ‘IS THERE AN ECHO IN HERE?’ DEBATE AWARD
Charlie Condon For Governor stating “end all property taxes” at the debates

(One thing is certain: there is no doubt what Charlie Condon is FOR!)

Feel free to share your own “Jimmys” with us by pressing the “Comment” link. There are some pretty creative people in the Commonvoice.com community who can come up with some good ones. I look forward to reading yours!

One more thing before I predict who should win and who will win in the four major statewide races. The following are my quick picks for a couple of other political races of note tomorrow:

4TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
JIM DEMINT defeats Phil Bradley

(This close race throughout the campaign will come down to the wire, but I think Jim DeMint will prevail to serve out his final term in Congress before running for the U.S. Senate in 2004. The faux pas by The Greenville News reporting that DeMint endorsed Sanford may cost Demint a few votes even though it was later corrected to say that Sanford endorsed DeMint! Do you think the Greenville paper did that on purpose?)

COMPTROLLER GENERAL
DEB SOFIELD defeats Rick Eckstrom

(Eckstrom’s claim that a letter exposing his past was likened to Osama bin Laden was ridiculous and reprehensible! Sofield had no idea about the letter until after the fact. The voters will see Rick Eckstrom as a desperate man and defeat him soundly tomorrow!)

Now it is time to break down each of the four major statewide races. First, I will identify the office and list the candidates running. Second, I will list the articles I have written on Commonvoice.com about that particular race. Third, I will identify the candidates who SHOULD win the race for various reasons. Fourth, I will predict who I think WILL be victorious in the election. Finally, I will predict the breakdown of the amount of vote each candidate will receive. If I think there will be a runoff, then I will choose multiple names. Ready? Here we go:

SECRETARY OF STATE
Candidates
Spartanburg County Clerk Of Court Mark Hammond
Horry County Auditor Lois Eargle
Former South Carolina Policy Council President Ed McMullen

My Commonvoice.com Articles
GOP Secretary Of State Candidates Fleecing Taxpayers
McMullen Missing Experience?

WHO SHOULD WIN?
Although he has never held political office before, Ed McMullen is so much more qualified for this office than Hammond and Eargle are, it’s not even close! McMullen is the only statewide candidate in 2002 who was unanimously recommended by all of the major newspaper editorial staffs in South Carolina. He has run an incredible campaign focusing on the positive aspects of what he would do as the next Secretary of State and should be the Republican nominee after Tuesday’s election.

WHO WILL WIN?
For the reasons listed above, I predict there will not be a runoff in this race and ED MCMULLEN will emerge victorious for the Republican nominee for Secretary Of State.

McMullen 55%
Eargle 25%
Hammond 20%

ATTORNEY GENERAL
Candidates
Former South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Henry McMaster
Former Circuit Court Judge Larry Richter
Former Chief Prosecutor For the Attorney General Jon Ozmint

My Commonvoice.com Articles
Neither McMaster Nor Richter Deserves To Be Attorney General
Ozmint-A Prosecutor Or Politician?

WHO SHOULD WIN?
Henry McMaster has the best name recognition of the three candidates for Attorney General. Richter should get a good amount of support from the Lowcountry where he is from. These two candidates should be in the runoff.

WHO WILL WIN?
However, Jon Ozmint has shown he has some major political firepower of his own with the widespread support he has been able to drum up in his first ever election. Henry McMaster will get a fair share of the votes for Attorney General, but Jon Ozmint has remained above the fray in terms of political controversy. While both McMaster and Richter have shady pasts, Jon Ozmint does not bring excessive baggage to this race. Although I thought John Hawkins would have won this race if he had not dropped out, I now predict Jon Ozmint has risen to the top of the heap. He will be in a tough runoff election with McMaster, though. It will be JON OZMINT facing HENRY MCMASTER on June 25th!

Ozmint 37%
McMaster 35%
Richter 28%

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR
Candidates
State Sen. Andre Bauer
State Sen. David Thomas
State Sen. Rita Allison

My Commonvoice.com Articles
Does Anyone Care About GOP Lt. Governor’s Race?

WHO SHOULD WIN?
This really is a tossup because nobody seems to care who wins. I think Rita Allison should win simply because she was the only candidate running for Lt. Governor who was willing to give up her seat in the state Senate. Neither of the men were willing to do that!

WHO WILL WIN?
Nevertheless, it will come down to the boys, though. Allison just doesn’t have enough support outside of the Upstate to be in the runoff. Therefore, DAVID THOMAS and ANDRE BAUER will battle it out in the runoff.

Thomas 39%
Bauer 37%
Allison 24%

GOVERNOR
Candidates
State Sen. Bill Branton
Nuclear Scientist Reb Sutherland
Columbia Attorney Ken Wingate
Secretary Of State Jim Miles
Former U.S. Congressman Mark Sanford
Attorney General Charlie Condon
Lt. Governor Bob Peeler

My Commonvoice.com Articles
No Taxes, No Problem
A Wizard of Oz Governor's Race
Will the Real Conservative Please Stand Up?
Sanford's Strategy Lacks Clarity and Direction
A Wizard of Oz Governor's Race
When Is The Frontrunner Not The Frontrunner?
Peeler's Pitiful Palmetto Prosperity Plan
A Closer Analysis of GOP Gubernatorial Poll
Candidate Debates Show Individuality
Not All Property Tax Plans Are the Same
Does Condon Blitz Prove Strength or Weakness?
Sanford Candidacy Receives Kiss Of Death
The Real Tax Shifters by PMS
What Might Have Been…
Sanford’s Liberal Voting Record Speaks For Itself

WHO SHOULD WIN?
If success in elections were based solely on money, then Mark Sanford and Bob Peeler would be victorious. It stands to reason that money can buy you a lot of exposure. And exposure puts your name and message in front of the voters! Sanford is betting on that to happen and it should put him in the runoff.

WHO WILL WIN?
Yet, it is the content of that message that counts. This horse race is going to come down to a photo finish, with BOB PEELER and CHARLIE CONDON holding off a charging Sanford campaign. It would not surprise me if each of these candidates are separated by only a few hundred votes. It is gonna be close!

Peeler 29%
Condon 28%
Sanford 27%
Miles 8%
Wingate 4%
Sutherland 2%
Branton 2%

Regardless of the outcome tomorrow, everyone who has supported their favorite candidate should give themselves a pat on the back for playing such an active role in the future of their government. Without your participation, our democracy would not exist!

Even if you have not been a part of the 2002 campaign, you still have an important role to play tomorrow by voting. It is a privilege that should not be taken for granted. It is a part of what makes us “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” God bless the USA!