GEORGETOWN - The candidates for state Senate District 34 agree on most issues except who has the experience and personality to best serve the constituents.

The three Republicans seeking the nomination met in a polite debate Monday night at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post, sponsored by the Georgetown County League of Women Voters. About 30 people came in addition to those accompanying the candidates.

Democrats are not contesting the seat, so the winner of the party primary June 8 will most likely be the senator to replace the retiring Arthur Ravenel, R-Mount Pleasant.

The district stretches along the coast from the south end of Myrtle Beach into Mount Pleasant, just north of Charleston, but all three candidates are residents of Georgetown County.

"We will have a resident senator back in Georgetown County for the first time since 1996," said Glenda Shoulette, who moderated the forum.

David Maring of Georgetown, a retired circuit judge, said he is the best choice. "I was elected by the state legislature five times," he said. He noted that he already has a relationship with many of them.

Ray Cleary, a dentist who lives in Murrells Inlet and practices in Surfside Beach, promised "a work ethic beyond none."

Ricky Horne, a Litchfield resident who is a property manager, said he is the candidate of the "regular guy," the nonlawyers and nondoctors.

All three support a connector road between U.S. 17 or the southern end of Carolina Bays Parkway, and U.S. 701. They say it is a safety and economic development issue. "We can build environmentally sound projects," Cleary said. It's best to work with conservationists during the design of the road to forestall lawsuits, he said.

"Every time a person walks across the national forest, there's some environmental damage," Maring said. People can't avoid building the road simply because of the damage, but they must make sure it is as low-impact as possible, he said.

The three also think more lottery proceeds should be used to beef up K-12 education instead of directing most of the money to college scholarships.

They all oppose allowing more nuclear waste into the state just to increase revenue.

"This is an issue I feel real strong about," Maring said. "We should not be a nuclear dumping ground."

Where they differ slightly is on taxes. Maring supports a cigarette tax increase to pay for Medicaid. Horne favors a gas tax increase to pay for roads, and Cleary said he would consider a higher gas tax if the money stayed in the district for road construction.

Even with so much agreement, it's good to see the candidates in person and observe how they react to each other and to questions from the voters, said Ralph Edwards of Georgetown, who turned out to listen to the candidates. He said he thinks he made up his mind to vote for Cleary after they spoke but will continue to think about it before election day.