Henry Fishburne figures he is running against two incumbents in the GOP primary for the Lowcountry’s Senate District 43 seat — the current senator and a former House member with close ties to the governor.

That dynamic has made the District 43 race one of the most watched among the 28 legislative primary contests that feature an incumbent June 8.

“Our strategy is to get in the runoff,” said Fishburne, 56, a real estate lawyer from Charleston. “Being the underdog, we would have beaten at least one incumbent at that point.”

The actual incumbent is Sen. John Kuhn of Charleston. Kuhn won the seat in a special election in 2001 and since has made a name for himself as something of a renegade.

At times, Kuhn has angered members of his own party, as well as other Lowcountry legislators. He recently got into a shouting match with first lady Jenny Sanford over her campaign contribution to Kuhn’s other opponent, former state Rep. Chip Campsen. Gov. Mark Sanford has not become involved in the race, but Campsen’s campaign materials feature Sanford.

Campsen was a House member for six years before honoring a term-limit pledge and retiring in 2002. He is a close friend of Sanford, working on the governor’s transition team following the 2002 election and as his top legislative aide in 2003.

Kuhn said he was not surprised to be one of only 12 Senate incumbents with primary opposition. “I’ve been very high-profile, standing up for voters and not for special interests.”

“He (Kuhn) led efforts to derail the governor’s restructuring plan, and I helped (Sanford) develop it,” Campsen said.

Campsen said that is “as dramatic contrast as you can find” between two candidates.

While he opposed parts of Sanford’s plan, Kuhn denies he worked to scuttle it. “My opponent is just wrong.”

District 43 is sprawling. It includes eight municipalities, stretching from the Isle of Palms down along the coast toward Kiawah Island and jutting west-northwest toward Goose Creek and Summerville.

Campsen and Fishburne say Kuhn — and his sometimes rocky relationship with other legislators — is a top issue in the campaign.

“I don’t think that John Kuhn has done a good job,” Fishburne said. “And I don’t think I would be running and Chip Campsen wouldn’t be running if I thought otherwise.”

In his first year in office, Kuhn was rebuked by Majority Leader Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence, for tying up debate. Last year, he had to apologize for suggesting Myrtle Beach drew tourists that Charleston did not want.

On the final day of the 2003 legislative session, Kuhn also filibustered a bill that would have given money to Charleston colleges and technical schools because it called for the state to borrow cash.

If none of the three candidates gets a majority of the votes on June 8, a runoff will be June 22. The eventual nominee will face Democrat Constance Anastopoulo in November.

PEE DEE BATTLE

Another closely watched race is unfolding in the Pee Dee, where incumbent Sen. Maggie Glover, D-Florence, has two primary opponents.

Glover has been in the Senate since 1993, serving in the House three years before that.

Her opponents — tax consultant Tim Norwood of Florence and Marion County assistant administrator Kent Williams — have worked to make the campaign about the lack of jobs in the four-county district.

“The jobs issue cuts across all party lines, all racial lines,” Norwood said. “It’s purely about (Glover’s) understanding of jobs.”

Williams agreed, adding two of the district’s four counties — Marion and Marlboro — have the state’s highest jobless rate.

“This district is very rural, a very poor district, economically deprived,” Williams said. “The citizens feel they’ve been left out, that they haven’t had the representation.”

Glover said she trusts her constituents to understand she has worked for them in Columbia.

“I’m running strongly on my proven record,” Glover said. “I’m counting on my constituents to follow through on what they always tell me.

The eventual Democratic nominee is as good as elected. There is no GOP candidate in November.

Reach Gould Sheinin at (803) 771-8658 or asheinin@thestate.com.