From incumbents to newcomers, from second chances to new starts, Tuesday's election has everything. Everyone is asking the big question: Who will come out on top?
And perhaps even more importantly, what will it all mean?
Robert Oldendick, USC political science professor and director of the Institute for Public Service and Policy Research, let The Daily Gamecock in on his analysis of what the upcoming races mean for South Carolina.
Governor
Incumbent Governor Nikki Haley is up against Democratic challenger Vincent Sheheen for the second time. When they faced off four years ago, Haley won with 51.4 percent of the vote. Sheheen wasn’t far behind, with 46.9 percent of the vote.
A poll jointly conducted by The New York Times, CBS and YouGov of 1,566 potential voters from Oct. 16 to Oct. 23 predicts a much bigger spread in 2014. According to the polls, Haley has exactly 50 percent of the vote, while Sheheen is falling behind with 33 percent.
Morgan Reeves joins the two dominant candidates again this year as the United Citizens Party candidate. He garnered less than one percent of the vote in 2010 as part of the Green Party, but he's back for a second chance. Steve French, a candidate with a Libertarian perspective, is the only newcomer on the ballot.
What it means
Oldendick said he believes that Haley will be the one celebrating on election day, but he's not surprised. He says the combination of the dominance of the Republican Party in South Carolina, Haley's advantage of being an incumbent and the fact that she's raised much more money than Sheheen logically puts her at the forefront of the race.
He also said that Haley has really staked her reputation over the last four years and has worked to portray herself as governor.
"Many of the voters seem to think that the state’s economy is on the right track and is pretty hopeful in terms of the economy," Oldendick said.
Lieutenant governor
With Democratic incumbent John McGill ineligible to run, Henry McMaster and Bakari Sellers are the only competitors on the ballot for this race. Republican candidate McMaster is a former attorney general and Democratic candidate Sellers is a current state representative. Sellers was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while McMaster defeated Mike Campbell with 63.6 percent of the vote in a Republican runoff.
What it means
This year's election for lieutenant governor is of special interest because it's the last time voters will be able to vote specifically for this position. South Carolinian voters have chosen their lieutenant governor since the Civil War, but the candidates for this position will run with the candidates for governor in the future.
Oldendick sees a "stark contrast" between the two candidates. Sellers is running for statewide office for the first time, making it hard for him to compete against McMaster's advantage of name recognition.
According to Oldendick, McMaster has come across as a candidate who has experience and will push Haley's policies. Oldendick wouldn't be surprised to see another Republican victory here.
"It all comes down to the dominance of the Republican party," Oldendick said.
U.S. Senate
Lindsay Graham is hoping for his third six-year term as a Republican senator from South Carolina by defeating Democratic Brad Hutto. He first took office in 2002 after defeating Alexander Sanders with 54.4 percent of the vote. He beat Bob Conley by a slightly larger margin of with 57.7 percent of the vote in 2008.
The Voter Survey Service is predicting a similar outcome in this election. Their poll places Graham at 45 percent of the vote and Hutto at 33 percent. Thomas Ravenel, the Independent candidate who promised to run if Graham won the Republican primary, is looking at 10 percent, while Libertarian candidate Victor Kocher sits at 4 percent.
Hutto defeated only one other potential candidate in the Democratic primary, garnering 76.6 percent of the vote. Graham received 56.4 percent of the vote in the Republican primary to defeat his six opponents.
But that's not all. There's also a special election for the second U.S. Senate seat. Republican incumbent Tim Scott is up against Democrat Joyce Dickerson in this race. Jill Bossi of the American Party of South Carolina is also running.
What it means
Oldendick sees this as a unique year for the U.S. Senate election since both seats are up for grabs, but he doesn't see either competition being very close.
According to Oldendick, the Democrats have put up very weak candidates who won't stand a chance against the "visible, good name recognition" Graham and Scott both have.
In fact, he believes both of these candidates will win by double digits.
U.S. House of Representatives
Columbia is split between district two and district six for the U.S. House of Representatives.
District two is a race between Republican incumbent Joe Wilson and Democrat Phil Black, while district six is a competition between Democratic incumbent Jim Clyburn, Republican Anthony Culler and Libertarian Kevin Umbaugh.
What it means
Don't be surprised to see Wilson and Clyburn to win with at least 55 percent of the vote, Oldendick said, since they've proven themselves by serving multiple times.
"Both Joe Wilson and Jim Clyburn have been very good representatives for their districts," Oldendick said.
Oldendick said that the pattern of incumbents facing weak opponents is a trend throughout the state, and he thinks the House of Representatives delegation from South Carolina will be exactly the same after Tuesday as it is now.