The forums were sponsored by the Kershaw County Chamber of Commerce and the Chronicle-Independent. The final meeting was held Thursday morning at the Best Western-Camden West in Lugoff.

Wood is challenging incumbent Cotty for House District 79; Lourie and Wingate are running for Senate District 22.

Each candidate spoke briefly about their backgrounds and their political stances.

Wingate, a Columbia attorney who has served on numerous boards and organizations as well as transition team leader for Gov. Mark Sanford, led off the morning by telling the group why he is a Republican and how he wants to work for reform in government. He cited such people as former Gov. James Edwards -- who is his father-in-law -- and former Gov. Robert McNair as mentors.

Lourie, a Columbia businessman who currently serves in the S.C. House of Representatives, has also worked with numerous non-profit agencies as well as served on political entities such as the Richland County School District 2 board of trustees.

Cotty, a Columbia attorney, retired military officer and longtime member of the House of Representatives, said he always stands up for what he believes is right, no matter what, and will continue to fight for progressive change in the House.

Wood, an information systems client advocate for Blue Cross Blue Shield, said his campaign is about a regular, ordinary citizen stepping up to do more for his community. He said he hopes to set an example for others to step up and work to make the state and the community a better place.

Lourie and Wingate, neighbors in Columbia, both mentioned they were friends but differed politically. Cotty and Wood both pointed out that their campaigns have studiously steered away from negative ``mud slinging`` and focused on the issues at hand.

``That`s refreshing in this day and age, and I thank my opponent for that,`` noted Wood.

Kershaw County School District Superintendent Herb Berg served as moderator, posing questions both pre-prepared and those written that morning by concerned citizens. The questions covered a number of issuers, from public education to tort reform.

One of the first questions posed to the candidates was where each stood on the issue of home rule. All of the candidates stated they were advocates of home rule and would fight to preserve it.

``No one knows how to do something better than the people close to it,`` Wood said. ``People in local government know better than the state what they need to do to make their community better.``

Lourie, who has served in the House for the past six years, agreed that local governments should exercise local control, and cited last year`s controversy over hog farms.

``I believe if Kershaw County wants to pass regulations stricter than the state`s to prevent hog farms coming there, they should have that right.``

Cotty called home rule at the state and local level the equivalent of states` rights at the federal level.

``We must have home rule, simply because it`s the right thing to do,`` he said.

Wingate said the question is not necessarily who is for home rule but who will work hardest to preserve it.

``I will be committed to it,`` he said.

The next question asked how the candidates propose to fund government services while at the same time cutting income and property taxes.

Lourie said he is interested in replacing some of that lost revenue through sales tax and in fact has been working with Sen. Vincent Sheheen on such a plan.

Cotty said he supports a systematic tax reform.

``I have no problem restructuring, but I`m not sure that a revenue neutral plan is the right way to go about it.``

Wingate also said he supports systematic reform, but first he wants to look at cutting waste in government.

``I believe we can lower income and property tax, review sales tax exemptions, increase the tax on cigarettes, and most important, eliminate some $300 million in waste and duplication of services alone.``

Wood said he believes it the duty of all citizens to pay taxes but agrees some relief needs to be enacted.

The next question addressed education reform, soaring dropout rates and providing a skilled workforce.

``We need a curriculum for those who do not qualify to go to college,`` Cotty said. ``We need a program they can succeed in.``

Cotty suggested a ``B`` diploma program, a curriculum that teaches those not college bound life skills as well as job skills. He also advocates full-day 4-year-old kindergarten.

Wingate said he believes in the power of public/private partnerships, and mentioned Midlands Technical College as an example of bringing private industry to the table to provide training and funding for people looking to gain those skills necessary to join an increasingly skilled workforce. He said he would like to see the larger research universities get more involved in such endeavors.

He also said he would like to see more small business tax incentives.

Lourie said he supports alternative curriculum programs, and in fact has seen them work in the Richland 2 school district.

``We give them alternative curriculums, and it works,`` Lourie said. ``They are productive citizens.``

Wood said he would like to see every child in South Carolina have access to the same opportunities. He would also like to see more parent involvement, he said.

``We need more parents involved, and they need to get involved early in the process and stay with it,`` he said.

All the candidates agreed that tort reform is needed in South Carolina.

``We have studied other states who have done this, and we have found that legislative enactments have brought down insurance rates, kept health care affordable and made health care more accessible to the public,`` Wingate said. ``I believe it is in the best interest of every citizen -- our present tort laws have caused companies to leave South Carolina.``

Wood noted that insurance costs are driven by many factors, including malpractice lawsuits. However, while he agrees that some limits on damage awards might be good, it should not be across the board.

Lourie said he has voted for two tort reform bills in the House and will continue to fight for it.

``We have to figure out a way to keep junk lawsuits from going to court but not limit the little guy`s right to have his day in court,`` he said.

Cotty, who called himself an ``anti-lawyer lawyer,`` said he tends to support caps on non-economic damage awards, such as punitive damages.

``We`re chasing business away, stopping people from doing business in this state, because our tort laws are so loose,`` he said.

Wingate, Woods, Lourie and Cotty all said they strongly support equity in education funding.

``I believe in equity funding,`` Wood said. ``Each child needs to be able to have access to the same opportunities.``

Lourie said he favors it as well but opposes the idea of ``vouchers`` -- taking money from public education and putting it into private schools.

``Without it, there`s no point in talking about systematic tax reform,`` Cotty said.

Berg, who moderated the forum, said he was pleased with the forums and impressed with the candidates.

``In my view, the public will be well-served by whoever they eventually choose,`` he said.

Buddy Clark, executive director of the chamber, said he believes the forums to be successful, informative and well-received.

``We were well pleased,`` Clark said. ``Pleased with the candidates -- we were able to learn things -- and pleased with the turnout. We`ll probably be doing more of these in the future.``