COLUMBIA, S.C. - This year's state Senate races attracted some big spenders.

The three Republican candidates for an open state Senate seat in a district that stretches from coastal Charleston to the southern part of Horry County near the beach, spent $359,668 in the party's primary, according to campaign expense records

The winner, Ray Cleary, spent the most, a total of $204,668 to take over the seat held by the retiring Arthur Ravenel.

Cleary will likely get the seat because he faces no Democratic opposition in November.

Other expensive races, according to campaign expenditure records, included:

_ Three Republican candidates for a Charleston district spending more than $560,000 on their primary. Chip Campsen beat incumbent John Kuhn after Kuhn spend $322,827 to try and retain his seat.

_ In the Pee Dee, Democratic candidate Tim Norwood spent what may be a state-record $604,771 in a three-way primary in a Florence County-based district. Norwood finished last in a very tight race, but the results are still in limbo because the party has ordered a new primary because of allegations of voter fraud.

_ In Williamsburg County, incumbent Sen. Yancey McGill spent $130,000 to defeat a Democratic primary challenger who spent $1,400. The district also includes part of Florence County.

Spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for a job that pays $10,400 might not seem to make sense, but Francis Marion University political scientist Neal Thigpen said it's the power, not the money, that makes Statehouse work so attractive.

It's especially true in South Carolina, where legislators give cities, counties and even the governor so little power, Thigpen said.

Ravenel himself touched on the reason several years ago when he talked to Thigpen about why be came back to the state Senate after serving in the U.S. House.

"He said there is nothing as powerful and influential as a state Senate seat in a Southern state," Thigpen said.

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Information from: The Sun News, http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/