Democratic incumbent Gov. Jim Hodges is facing Republican challenger Mark Sanford. The Democrat has to deal with a GOP-controlled Legislature in a largely Republican state. Sanford, a former congressman, advanced from a seven-way primary to a runoff against Lt. Gov. Bob Peeler. Sanford won the nomination handily after Peeler went on the offense with a slew of negative ads that political observers say backfired. Hodges, who faced no challenger in the primary and has more than $4 million in the bank, already has started his own salvo of attack ads against Sanford.