South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford (R) holds the early lead as he seeks to keep his job for another four years.

Sanford leads State Senator Tommy Moore (D) by 13-percentage points 49% to 36%. He leads Florence Mayor Frank Willis (D) by 19 points, 52% to 33% (see crosstabs).

Any incumbent who polls below 50% is generally considered vulnerable and Sanford is right on the edge. However, the Republican leanings of the state and the fact that the Inez Tennenbaum is taking a pass on the race can make the incumbent breathe a little easier.

Tennenbaum was the Democrats 2004 Senate nominee and is retiring as the South Carolina Superintendent of Education.

Sanford is viewed favorably by 60% of the state's voters and unfavorably by 27%. Both challengers have much lower name recognition with roughly a third of all voters having no opinion on them.

President Bush earns a 52% Job Approval rating in the Palmetto State. That's well above his national ratings.

South Carolina voters narrowly trust the President more than Congressional Democrats on both Iraq and the economy. By a 50% to 40% margin, the economy is seen as a more important issue (see crosstabs).