SC-Gov/SC-03: Gresham Barrett (R) to Run for Gov

Yet another GOPer looks to bail out of the misery that is life in the House minority:

Rep. J. Gresham Barrett made it official Wednesday: He will be a candidate for South Carolina governor in 2010. The four-term Republican announced his candidacy electronically. He sent an e-mail to supporters linking to a video on his new campaign site, Gresham Barrett for Governor.

Barrett is the first of what is likely to be a crowded field of Republicans vying for the nomination.

Current Gov. Mark Sanford , a Republican, is barred from running for a third term and the open seat has attracted attention from a number of state-level officials on both sides of the aisle.

Nonetheless, a whole passel of Republicans are eager to take Barrett’s place:

But should Barrett attempt to succeed outgoing Gov. Mark Sanford (R) and retire from the House in two years, a legendary name around South Carolina and in Washington, D.C., is expected to surge to the front of the line: Strom Thurmond Jr.

Thurmond, a lawyer in the region and son of the late Senator, undoubtedly would have universal name recognition with conservative voters and is widely known to have expressed interest in Barrett’s seat in the past. The late statesman’s son, a former federal prosecutor, did not return a message left at his Aiken, S.C., law firm.

Behind Thurmond, state Reps. Rex Rice and Michael Thompson also are considered possible Republican primary frontrunners in the district, which was previously represented by now-Sen. Lindsey Graham (R). Rice, a wealthy local businessman, also could devote significant resources to his campaign and has the requisite ties with the local business community. …

State Sen. Greg Ryberg, who sank millions of dollars of his own money on losing a state treasurer’s race two years ago, also is considered a 2010 GOP ballot possibility in Barrett’s district. State Sen. Tom Alexander (R) is rumored to covet higher office as well.

The district, though, is brutal territory for Dems. Until 1994, this seat was actually held by Democrat Butler Derrick, who apparently had the good sense to get out of the way of Hurricane Gingrich. The presidential numbers tell a painful tale: after going for Bush 34-66 in 2004, the needle barely moved to 35-64 in 2008. Given that SC as a whole moved eight points in our direction, standing still qualifies as falling behind. Sorry, open seat fans.