Scott Singer and Tom Young will meet in two weeks in a runoff for the state House 81 race.

Mr. Young, who received the most votes but didn't secure at least 50 percent of the vote, said he was excited about being in the runoff and noted that he came close to winning the primary outright. But with four candidates vying for the Republican nod, he said, he expected a runoff.

"Now we'll work real hard to win in two weeks," he said.

His opponent, Mr. Singer, an Aiken County councilman, said with the race down to two candidates, the focus can be on the issues.

"Now that it's just down to the two of us, we can get rid of the sideshow," he said.

Elsewhere, the governor's former chief of staff, Tom Davis, appeared to have bested Sen. Catherine Ceips, the state's only female senator seeking re-election.

With 95 percent of precincts reporting, Mr. Davis was winning with 56 percent of the vote for the Beaufort County seat.

Mr. Davis was among the five candidates endorsed by Gov. Mark Sanford over GOP incumbents. He stepped down from his office to run for Senate, saying it would allow him to push the governor's agenda directly. The two have been allies since their college days.

Voters sent Ms. Ceips to the Senate last year in a special election after five years in the House.

Neither Ms. Ceips nor Mr. Davis immediately returned messages left on their cell phones seeking comment.

In the Upstate, Rep. Bill Sandifer easily kept his seat despite Mr. Sanford's endorsement of his challenger. Unlike Mr. Davis, he faces no Democratic foe in November.

All 170 seats in the Legislature are up for election this year, and voters were choosing the Democratic or Republican nominee in 48 House races and 22 Senate contests. With Republicans controlling 60 percent of both chambers, the balance of power is not expected to shift in November.

Among the incumbents running are two high-profile black Democratic senators who supported Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. They now face black opponents who support Barack Obama.

Sens. Robert Ford of Charleston and Darrell Jackson of Columbia are both seeking their fifth terms.

Mr. Ford's challenger, lawyer Dwayne Green, said Mr. Ford's comments about Mr. Obama prompted his run. Early in the primary season, Mr. Ford predicted trouble for Democrats in November should a black nominee lead the ticket.

"We'd lose the House and the Senate and the governors and everything," said Mr. Ford, who later apologized.

Mr. Green said Mr. Ford's comment took the state backward.

"It was discouraging to hear a senior African-American leader in this state criticize the most viable African-American presidential candidate in those terms. It sends a bad message to African-American youth in this state," said Mr. Green, who co-sponsored a fundraiser for Mr. Obama.

Mr. Ford, who's known for his outspokenness, said he's dedicated his life to helping blacks and called Mr. Green's criticism "pure garbage and nonsense."

"People in my district know I'm a true public servant," said Mr. Ford, who boasts of being arrested 73 times in the civil rights era.

Mr. Jackson's opponent, a school board chairwoman in Richland County named Wendy Brawley, accused the incumbent of "crossing an ethical line" when his media consulting firm negotiated a $10,000-per-month contract with Mrs. Clinton's campaign.

Mr. Jackson, the pastor of a 10,000-member church, countered that the money to lead Mrs. Clinton's campaign in South Carolina went to his 22-year-old business -- the state's oldest black-owned public relations firm -- not him personally.

"What does my business dealings have to do with my effectiveness as a senator?" he asked.

In the Republican contests, Mr. Sanford publicly endorsed nine candidates.

Two Republicans were challenging Lexington Sen. Jake Knotts, who was sent to the Senate in 2002 after eight years in the House. Those include Katrina Shealy, a former chairwoman of the Lexington County GOP. She was endorsed by Mr. Sanford and groups pushing his agenda.

Associated Press reports were used in this article.