Three of the four Republican candidates for a Senate District 5 nomination found few areas of disagreement in their first debate Monday night.

Kathleen Jennings Gresham, Timothy Macko, state Rep. Lewis Vaughn and Michael Meilinger, who didn't participate in the debate, are seeking the seat vacated by the resignation of veteran Sen. Verne Smith, R-Greer.

Gresham, the most vocal of the trio at the debate, challenged her opponents to sign a pledge not to increase taxes, and said it wasn't a political gimmick because "it's very important to the voters of District 5 to know how the candidates stand on taxes."

"I think government can be done better, more efficiently and put South Carolina back on top where we ought to be without raising taxes," she said.

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Macko, an accountant and 1992 Bob Jones University graduate who served six years in the New Mexico legislature before returning to Greenville, said government, like families, must live on its income.

"Government should live on a shoestring budget," he said.

Vaughn, a legislator since 1989, said he doesn't sign such pledges because they are too limiting in extreme situations, such as in 1994, when there was a legislative effort to change state funding formulas to Greenville's detriment.

"I do not want people in other parts of the state to tax Greenville, so I've used the threat of (other) tax increases to keep your taxes down," Vaughn said.

When Gresham said, "Government has played too many games for too long," Vaughn said, "I'm among the most conservative members of the House, I've walked the walk and talked the talk, I do not vote for tax increases."

Asked about Republican Gov. Mark Sanford's rocky relationship with the GOP-controlled Legislature, all three pledged their support.

Similarly, all the candidates said they are committed to vote for a constitutional amendment on the November ballot to define marriage as being between "one man and one woman."