Rep. George Bailey, a Republican, faces Democrat Lachlan McIntosh.

Bailey, 67, has been in the House for 20 years, except for one term. McIntosh, 31, a former aide to S.C. Gov. Jim Hodges, never has held political office.

The S.C. Education Association and the Dorchester County Education Association have endorsed McIntosh because Bailey supported Republican Gov. Mark Sanford's budget cuts for education.

The state is giving public schools more money this year than last year, Bailey said. State agencies should be more efficient rather than demanding more money, he said.

"There is too much money squandered," Bailey said. "The money is there and is not being spent right."

McIntosh said legislation Bailey supported gives public schools $200 million less than the 1977 Education Finance Act requires.

McIntosh promises to restore more state money for public education, raise teacher pay and push for legislation to reduce class sizes.

Bailey supports Sanford's efforts to put the state Department of Education under the governor's office and to combine the Health and Human Services Department and Disability and Special Needs Department. He also said the state should consider funneling some lottery money into lower grades.

Both candidates stress the need for more affordable health care but differ on the solutions. Putting a cap on lawsuits against doctors and hospitals is a key component of Bailey's plan.

Like Sanford, he argues that lawsuits are driving health-care costs upward because doctors and hospitals must pay higher insurance premiums.

McIntosh disagrees. "I'm against anything that limits the rights of working people."

McIntosh said thousands of S.C. residents have lost health care benefits over the past few years. He cited funding cuts for the Silver Card program that helps seniors get prescriptions.

Bailey said the state put more money into the Silver Card this year than last year. "There is never enough money to go around."

Both candidates cite the need to create more jobs in rural Dorchester County. Bailey said his years of experience and connections with the Republican governor give him more leverage in getting deals. He expects to be more effective since switching parties. "I served as a Democrat for 18 years, although I was always an ultraconservative."

Since the switch, the Democratic Party has challenged several claims in Bailey's resume. He acknowledged that he attended Lee Institute School of Real Estate in Brookline, Mass., not Washington and Lee University.

Bailey also clarified his resume to say he was in the Marine Reserve after saying for years that he was a Marine veteran. Democrats also recently challenged his claim that he attended a military school in Augusta. Bailey dismissed the latest accusation as more "sour grapes" from the Democrats.

Bailey said he helped get industrial parks in St. George and Summerville; helped the Upper Dorchester Historical Society get a $136,000 grant from the U.S. Transportation Department to renovate the historic Koger House in downtown St. George; and helped set up a system under which Dorchester County has collected $1 million for an economic development fund from fees on hazardous waste materials coming into the county over the past two years.

McIntosh said Bailey has not done enough.

"We need to bring in good clean industry," McIntosh said. "I want it make it my job to bring jobs to rural Dorchester County."

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