NEWBERRY — Heyward Fulmer has watched, listened to and read about each of the Democratic presidential hopefuls in preparation for the state’s upcoming primary.

The choice took some time. But Fulmer has finally settled on a candidate.

“I’m going to vote for the Carolina boy,” said the 84-year-old retired farmer, referring to U.S. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina. “Anyone who grew up in that little bitty house would know something about hard times.”

Edwards’ boyhood home, a three-room house in Seneca, S.C., was used as a backdrop in one of his television commercials to emphasize his humble beginnings.

Voters in this swing county with a population of about 36,000 are just beginning to focus on the contest. By process of elimination, they have narrowed their choices to three candidates — Edwards, retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark and U.S. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts.

But voters, like Jane Britt, a 70-year-old bookstore owner, wonder whether all the fuss really matters. There’s a pervasive sense that no matter whom the Democrats ultimately nominate, the Republicans will prevail.

“I’m afraid we’re going to have four more years of George Bush,” she said.

For months, most of the major Democratic candidates have visited the state to court hard-core activists, party officials and officeholders, hoping to build the necessary network to win the first-in-the-South primary on Feb. 3.

Now, competition for the rank-and-file voters has started with TV spots, mailings and personal campaign appearances.

Based on interviews with two dozen voters, Bush is still strong here. But there are signs his popularity has slipped since he was elected in 2000.

“Anybody but Bush,” said George Burk, a 71-year-old retired military officer, who calls himself a John McCain Republican. “He took us from the biggest surplus to the biggest deficit and did that in two years. He also got us into a war that’s going to be hard to get out of.”

Burk has decided to go with Kerry.

“He talks like he has got some sense, like he has got some education,” he said over a cup of coffee at Hardee’s restaurant. Kerry, he added, “acts like he’s interested in people.”

There are signs the war in Iraq and the rising body count of American soldiers killed in action is beginning to take its toll on Bush.

“It’s a sad situation,” said Brenda Stokes, a 38-year-old restaurant manager. “One of my best friends’ son got killed over there.”

Newberry is one of 15 swing counties — those that are not considered a sure thing for either Republicans or Democrats — that are critical in any election. They often determine the outcome.

With so much emphasis placed on the importance of the black vote in this primary and the possibility that vote could split among the leading candidates, the white vote in these swing counties suddenly becomes the target. Whoever gets a plurality of that vote is likely to be the victor.

That has not been lost on Edwards and Clark, who have quietly been courting white voters in these swing areas.

Blacks make up about a third of the vote here. Many still are undecided.

Cato Coleman, an 83-year-old cobbler, said, “I haven’t concentrated on it too much. But I’m for the Democrat; I’ve never voted Republican in my life.”

The South Carolina primary is important because it is the first Southern test and the first in which there will be a significant black vote. The South is an important region for the Democrats to do well in, because it has been steadily moving into the Republican column for years.

South Carolina could sort out the field and send the victor on to Boston, where Democrats will pick their nominee.

Newberry has been known to vote Republican in some races, and Democratic in others. Its locally elected officials are a mix of both parties.

Democrats are excited about this primary and the attention they are getting. They are taking their civic duty seriously.

Estelle Dominick, an 87-year-old grandmother, is struggling between Edwards and Clark. She likes them both.

“Clark can get us out of the mess we’re in over in Iraq,” she said.

And Edwards?

“He’s a young man. He’s kinda down-to-earth.”

Top issues here are jobs and health care, followed by the war. Several voters see their once-secure jobs disappearing and standards of living slipping dangerously.

Dyed-in-the-wool Republicans are having no part of the Democratic primary.

“Do they have ‘none-of-the-above’ on the ballot?” asked Joe Welborn, a 77-year-old retired postal worker.

“If they had somebody decent running, I’d vote for him. Nobody can beat Bush.”

Reach Bandy at (803) 771-8648 or lbandy@thestate.com.