OUR LEGISLATIVE endorsements in Tuesday’s primary runoffs are based upon a theme that should by now be quite familiar to our readers: independence.

We want lawmakers who will think for themselves, rather than letting outside forces dictate to them. We want legislators who, when it comes to deciding state policy, feel beholden to no one but their constituents.

By “outside forces,” I mean political parties as well as out-of-state groups who try to stack our Legislature with people who will support their agendas.

We saw an illustration of that last week, with the revelation that the misleadingly named “All Children Matter” is backing Joan Brady against Susan Brill for the Republican nomination in House District 78. All Children Matter is a Michigan group dedicated to pushing “school choice,” which it defines as including such things as giving people tax breaks to abandon public schools.

The organization’s Web site puts it in much more innocuous language than that, of course. You have to read carefully to figure out the agenda. But at least you can figure it out from the site, which is more than one can say for the ads supporting Ms. Brady. Neither the radio ads nor the mailing supporting her reveals the group’s agenda. Instead, they back her for signing away her right to think independently to yet another out-of-state group, Americans for Tax Reform. She did that by being one of the few candidates we spoke with this year to sign ATR’s infamous no-new-taxes pledge.

Ms. Brady, for her part, declines to embrace publicly the Michigan group’s agenda. That sounds good, except for two things: First, it reminds me that she also declined to say in her interview with us whether she would sign the tax pledge, which she later did. Second, All Children Matter has enough confidence that she’s on their side to bet their money on her. Of course, that could be because opponent Susan Brill is definitely not in their corner. As she told The State last week, “I’m standing with the folks in our school district who say this is not good for us” — as opposed to manipulative outsiders who say that it is.

Her clear independence of such influences is the main reason we’re supporting Ms. Brill over Ms. Brady on Tuesday.

There are other ways to be independent that matter just as much. For instance, we are backing Nikki Haley in her bid to unseat Rep. Larry Koon in District 87 because she promises to inject fresh blood into the House, rather than being yet another reliable vote for the existing House leadership.

At 30 years and counting, Mr. Koon is the longest-serving Republican in the House. He is also one of the most reliable votes for House Speaker David Wilkins — so reliable, in fact, that when Mr. Koon let it be known he was planning to retire, the speaker stepped in to talk him out of it.

In a letter addressed “To the voters of Lexington County,” Mr. Wilkins acknowledged that “after three decades of public service, Larry has earned some well-deserved rest. But earlier this year, I asked Larry to reconsider his decision because quite frankly, we need him now more than ever.”

And why is this, as the speaker wrote, “a matter of great importance, both to Lexington County and the State of South Carolina”? The speaker asked the voters to consider three facts: that Mr. Koon is “the senior ranking Republican in the House” that he led the drive for a property tax cut nine years ago; and that he is an experienced and respected member of the Ways and Means Committee. That was pretty much it in terms of reasoning.

Mr. Wilkins then went on to ask, “Will you help make sure Larry Koon returns for another term to help solve our state’s budget crisis?”

The letter gave no indication as to what sort of rabbit Mr. Koon would pull out of his hat to accomplish that. Nor did it explain why he hadn’t pulled it out before now.

By contrast, Ms. Haley would like to see lawmakers take a whole new approach to the budget. She comes at it from the perspective of a businesswoman. (Her family owns an upscale clothing store in Lexington County.)

Actually, I’m understating that. At one point during her endorsement interview, I scribbled the following in my notes: “mentions ‘in a business’ for about the 14th time.” As in, “In a business... every day you go in with an open mind.”

That means you don’t do things the way they’ve always been done. “You start solving problems before they happen,” she said. You also stop the time-honored legislative practice of starting “spending on programs without any idea where the money is coming from down the line.”

It also means that you think for yourself, rather than letting party chiefs or out-of-state advocacy groups get between you and your constituents. “You need to talk to the people, you need to research it, you need to debate it, and then you need to go back and talk to the people,” she said. “That’s what I see missing.”

So she signs no pledges. “No one wants to see taxes raised, but that would be closed-minded.” She is so tax-averse she wouldn’t even raise the cigarette tax without reforming Medicaid first. But she understands, as a businesswoman, that you don’t close your options before you begin.

Speaker Wilkins told me Friday that his letter in favor of Mr. Koon was nothing unusual, but something he does for any GOP caucus member who asks. “I’m very loyal to my House caucus members.” He says that if one of those members is unseated by another Republican, then his loyalty will transfer to the winner. “That is my philosophy — if you’re a part of the family, if you’re a part of the team, I’m loyal to you.” He says he told that to Nathan Ballentine after he unseated the speaker’s own majority leader, Rick Quinn.

Presumably, he would be saying the same to Nikki Haley if she wins on Tuesday.

But while it may be all the same either way to the speaker, there’s a big difference here for the voters of District 87: If they like the direction in which the Legislature has taken South Carolina over the past 30 years, they should vote for Larry Koon. If they think we need a change, they should back Nikki Haley.

Write to Mr. Warthen at P.O. Box 1333, Columbia, S.C. 29202, or bwarthen@thestate.com.