More or less, what was expected to happen in the Republican primary runoffs for South Carolina’s Congressional seats did happen. Rep. Tim Scott is all but assured of being the next congressman from the First District with his thorough dispatching of Paul Thurmond, Rep. Jeff Duncan won a relatively close race against Richard Cash in the Third District, Solicitor Trey Gowdy took out U.S. Rep. Bob Inglis in the Fourth and Jim Pratt probably won the right to get waxed by U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn in the Sixth.

Everybody’s in a lather about Scott being only a few months away from being the only black Republican in Congress, and while that is noteworthy, there’s not much there beyond pointing out the obvious. The story that is rattling around for us is what happened in the Fourth District. Inglis spent three terms in the House in the ’90s, and another three after U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint decided to run for Fritz Hollings‘ open seat. What happened?

For one thing, Gowdy laid down a whuppin’, 71-29. That’s not just a big win, it’s a joke. A laugher. How did Inglis so completely alienate the people who sent him to Washington six times? When he left his seat to run against Hollings in 1998, Inglis was every bit the rock-ribbed, hard-right conservative. He was going around saying things like “only Christians should marry Christians.” Even in South Carolina, we’re pretty sure religion isn’t a relationship dealbreaker for most, but it’s the Upstate — you go where the voters are.

In the past few years, though, he’s turned into a different character. Inglis developed some relatively moderate positions. And that straight killed him. Inglis said that he was trying to represent all of the people. While laudable, you have to get elected, first, before you can represent anyone. And everybody isn’t voting in the Republican primary in the Fourth District, much less the runoff. Just like that, it was all over.

U.S. Rep Bob Inglis has been around politics for a while. Indeed, he was even the Republican nominee against former U.S. Sen. Fritz Hollings, in Hollings’ last run for the seat. Inglis lost, took some time off, came back and again won the SC-04 office he held previously. That makes the following even more unusual. From a story in The Herald-Journal, it appeared that his campaign violated state campaign finance ethics laws.

According to paper, a staffer from the campaign told the SHJ that another candidate for the GOP nomination for the seat, Solicitor Trey Gowdy, broke ethics laws. Thing is, mentioning such a thing, whether or not it is true, before a ruling has been handed down, is not OK.

State law says that all investigations, inquiries, hearings and documents are confidential until a final resolution is reached. The “willful release” of such information is a misdemeanor, carrying a penalty of up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

Pretty cut-and-dry, right? But, the Inglis campaign maintains that because it submitted a Federal complaint as well, the state complaint is just a part of it and not a violation. Au contraire, monsieur.

“Since every state violation was included in the federal complaint, there’s nothing we did wrong,” [Inglis spokesman Price] Atkinson said via e-mail.

But that statement in itself is a potential violation, because it acknowledges the state complaint and indirectly reveals its contents. When asked about that possibility, Atkinson said: “The media made the connection, not us. We’ve discussed only the substance of the [Federal] complaint.”

Oh, come on. If you’re going to file an ethics complaint and you intend on talking to the media about it, it might be a good idea to check up on what the laws and regulations are regarding such speech, unless you want it coming back to bite you on the ass. Really — we’re not in a high-level position in a campaign, and even we’ve known for years that you can’t talk about such an investigation.

Honestly, you’d think that Inglis would hire people who are slightly more intelligent about the rules of the game. Unfortunately for him, it doesn’t look that way.

This whole outgrowth of political teabaggery can be rather entertaining. We’ve said it before, but those jokers remind us of when Diane Keaton as Louise Bryant admonished Warren Beatty as John Reed in “Reds.” She said that what the hell were they doing — what did it matter which part of the left of the left was the real Communist Party in America? Factionalism, though more at home on the left, is not unknown on the right. And so, we’ve got teabaggers.

Christina Jeffrey, ostensibly the tea party candidate in the SC-04 Republican primary race, seems to be a candidate without a base. Friday morning, she was at a meeting where the state Republican Party and its leadership was getting ripped apart by the assorted teabaggers (we’re just upset we missed Earl Grey and Mr. Oolong).

Basically, she tried to take the podium, demanding to speak. They told her no — it’s become a custom of teabaggers not to let candidates talk — but then she asked the audience, “Don’t y’all want to hear what I have to say?” The gentleman running the event, Harry Kibler, told her that no candidates could speak. She kept demanding, so they gave her two minutes. When she started speaking, the audience started booing and half of them left.

Insanity, all around.

Perusing the last of the SC-04 reports, it’s clear that the money competition is squarely between U.S. Rep. Bob Inglis and Solicitor Trey Gowdy. Inglis has the advantage of PAC money that comes from being an incumbent congressman, while Gowdy has been prodigious in packing his war chest.

TREY GOWDY
Contributions: $88,340
Expenditures: $64,011.95
Cash-on-hand: $204,649.74

Significant contributions
Charles Hodge, $500
Attorney
Scott Talley, $2,000
Former state representative
Advance America, $1,500
Payday lending company
Nelson Mullins, $1,000
Law firm

Significant expenditures
First Tuesday Strategies (Signage, Web site, consulting), $4,266.25, $402.32, $3,500×2, $200
Linning Smoak and Crawford (public relations), $2,500
George Ramsey (consulting, &c.), $2,500×6, $72.22, $35.20
Sparks Research (survey), $6,500
David Woodard (consulting), $975
Chad McGowan (refund), $2,400

BOB INGLIS
Contributions: $122,599.13
Expenditures: $61,973.74
Cash-on-hand: $308,291.74

Significant contributions
David Eisner, $1,000
CEO, TheMarkets.com
Steve Evered, $384
Government affairs, Michelin
Leslie McCraw, $500
Former CEO, Flour Daniel
Ed Bergin, $500
President, Lockheed Martin
Gayle Averyt, $500
Former chairman, Colonial Life
National Rifle Association, $1.000
Gun rights organization

Significant expenditures
Trevetts Direct (direct mail), $1,843.21, $450.16
Fogo De Chao (DC Fly-In dinner), $1,944.75
Bailey’s Bar & Grill (Braggin’ Rites dinner and drinks), $2,112.23

JIM LEE
Contributions: $4,795.15
Expenditures: $2,787.88
Cash-on-hand: $4,146.76

Significant contributions
None.

Significant expenditures
Dark Horse Strategy Group (logo, yard signs, business cards): $269/40, $397.50, $47.70, $300

The SC-04 race is one of the stranger Republican primary battles this year. U.S. Rep. Bob Inglis was considered by many a hardcore conservative when he was the GOP nominee in former U.S. Sen. Fritz Hollings‘ last run for office. In subsequent years, his environmental views have put a huge target on his back, leading to this year’s very crowded primary. Sen. David Thomas and Tea Party candidate Christina Jeffrey are two of the candidates in that race to post their money numbers the earliest.

DAVID THOMAS
Contributions: $30,739
Expenditures: $27,789.32
Cash-on-hand: $91,173.66

Significant contributions
Bill Amick, $1,000
CEO, Amick Company
Joel Bieber, $1,000
Attorney
Hunter Howard, $250
CPA, Scott McElveen
Ron Walters, $750
State delegate, West Virginia

Significant expenditures
Black Label Strategy (fundraising), $9,983.50
Rod Shealy (polling expenses), $2,122

CHRISTINA JEFFREY
Contributions: $10,391
Expenditures: $17,907.33
Cash-on-hand: $16,261.28

Significant contributions
None.

Significant expenditures
Sewell Consultancy (Voter base, consulting), $3,500, $4,253.18

It’s been interesting watching the financial disclosures coming from state campaigns, but Friday marked the deadline for Federal campaigns. Naturally, it’s taking a bit for the reports to come online, so we’re making time by seeing what other news is out there. One thing that’s happening is that Seventh Circuit Solicitor Trey Gowdy, who is running in the SC-04 Republican nomination race, has gone on television with his first ad.

Here you go:

If you want to see some wild events and wilder things said, just tune into a GOP primary race in the Upstate. Such as it is with the multitude of challengers to U.S. Rep Bob Inglis in the Fourth District. Christina Jeffrey, who lectures at Wofford, has teamed up with SCHotline‘s Jeffrey Sewell. That wouldn’t be a big deal, normally. Then, strange things start to happen and you have to wonder what the hell is going on.

For instance, Friday evening, this tweet came from the SCHotline account:

Wait, what? That’s an interesting way to make an unsubstantiated hit on an opposing candidate. Seventh Circuit Solicitor Trey Gowdy is one of the several trying to unseat Inglis in the primary, as well. Maybe it’s just us, but if you’re going to say something like that about a candidate, you may want to show you actually have evidence of said conduct. A day later, there doesn’t appear to be any of that.

What is frankly bizarre is why Jeffrey allowed someone to run her campaign that put out a tweet like the one above, followed by this one, roughly 19 hours later:

We’re not saying Jeffrey made a mistake bringing on Sewell to run her operation — hey, different strokes for different folks — but her campaign is looking more and more like the fringe effort it was pegged as in 2008. For people just looking at the race, unsubstantiated rumors about a candidate’s personal life, plus unsubstantiated rumors of a retort, equal people not taking the campaign pushing those rumors seriously.

The wonks at the Cook Political Report have gone to town with a new base polling system, the “partisan voting index.” It takes into account the last five presidential election cycles.

One is that Republicans have absolutely sucked — or shat the bed, or bollixed up the works, whatever your expression — in winning favorable districts. Democrats tend to be crowded together, in that the bluest districts are very blue, while Republicans are spread out. But, there are way more GOP-leaning districts. The disparity between the party in Congress and the district tendency is staggering.

U.S. House, by members
Democrat: 257
Republican: 178

U.S. House, by VPI
Democrat: 191
Republican: 234
Even: 9

That means a lot of Democrats are winning conservative districts. If the GOP wants to take back the House any time soon, it’s going to have to do something about that. It already lost one of the most reliable districts in the country in NY-23, and will almost certainly lose U.S. Rep. Joeseph Cao‘s LA-2, which has a +25 Democratic VPI and went for President Barack Obama and U.S. Sen. John Kerry by massive margins.

In South Carolina, the situation is only slightly different.

House districts, by GOP VPI
SC-03: Gresham Barrett (R), R+17
2004: Bush +32, 2008: McCain +29
SC-04: Bob Inglis (R), R+15
2004: Bush +31, 2008: McCain +23
SC-01: Henry Brown (R), R+10
2004: Bush +22, 2008: McCain +14
SC-02: Joe Wilson (R), R+9
2004: Bush +21, 2008: McCain +9
SC-05: John Spratt (D), R+7
2004: Bush +15, 2008: McCain +7
SC-06: Jim Clyburn (D), D+12
2004: Kerry +22, 2008: Obama +29

Some Democrats, like Spratt or U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards of Texas (R+20), are so entrenched that it would take the stars aligning for a Republican win. But, having such a large advantage in VPI but at a significant low in actual representation seems to show that the people behind the wheel haven’t been performing at a winning level in elephant land.

Increasingly, it’s looking like the race for the GOP nomination in the Fourth District will come down between incumbent U.S. Rep. Bob Inglis and Seventh Circuit Solicitor Trey Gowdy. In the third quarter of this year, Gowdy raised more cash, but Inglis has more greenbacks on hand. Unlike the Third District race, which was relatively nondescript in its contributions and disbursements, this one was a little more interesting. Also, Sen. David Thomas, who has cultivated many a headline with his investigation into Gov. Mark Sanford‘s naughty ways, doesn’t look like a significant factor. He’s like a baseball team that’s been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.

U.S. Rep. Bob Inglis
Contributions: $101,542.11
Expenditures: $36,218.92
Cash-on-Hand: $245,064.04

Notable contributions
Max Hyde, $250
Former candidate for S.C. Senate
Bo Aughtry, $250
Businessman
Ed Sellers, $1,000
CEO, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina
Mike Murphy, $500
Political consultant
Fund for America’s Future, $2,500
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham’s PAC

Notable disbursements
Brains on Fire (radio advertising), $4,358, $2,442, $4,617
Starboard Communications (mail preparation), $2,865.01

Solicitor Trey Gowdy
Contributions: $124,615
Expenditures: $27,292.79
Cash-on-Hand: $180,321

Notable contributions
Vic Bailey Jr., $250
Owner, Vic Bailey Ford
Vic Bailey III, $250
Executive, Vic Bailey Ford
Harris DeLoach Jr., $1,000
CEO, Sonoco
James Dunbar, $1,000
Dunbar Funeral Home
Hamp Lindsey, $1,000
Owner, Wade’s Restaurant
Bill Lowndes, $2,400
Tindall Corp.
Roger Milliken, $2,400
Milliken & Co.
William Webster IV, $1,000
Chairman, Advance America

Notable disbursements
First Tuesday Strategies (bumper stickers), $627
Linning, Smoak and Crawford (public relations), $2,500
George Ramsey (strategic consulting), $2,000, $2,500×3
David Woodard (strategic consulting), $2,900

Sen. David Thomas
Contributions: $84,755
Expenditures: $8,468.24
Cash-on-Hand: $88,223.98

Notable contributions
Tim Brett, $2,400
Brett, Inc.
Tony Denny, $1,000
Lobbyist/consultant
Billy O’Dell, $500
State senator
Ed Sellers, $2,400
CEO, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina
William Webster IV, $1,000
Advance America
Advance America, $2,300
Payday lending company
BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, $5,000
Insurance company
Cash America International, $2,500
Payday lending company
World Acceptance Corporation, $2,500
Payday lending company

Notable disbursements
Richard Quinn & Associates (polling), $1,500
Rod Shealy (polling), $750

Christina Jeffrey
Contributions: $8,121
Expenditures: $3,980.16
Cash-on-Hand: $23,777.61

Jim Lee
Contributions: $13,032.94
Expenditures: $10,893.48
Cash-on-Hand: 2,139.46

You would have thought they planned it. Earlier Monday, Sen. Vince Sheheen and Rep. Boyd Brown announced, separately, they would like further investigation of Gov. Mark Sanford‘s travel issues and use of state money for travel that may have been illegal according to state law. That afternoon, Sen. David Thomas said Sanford’s travel upgrades weren’t kosher.

Sheheen, who is running for the Democratic nomination for governor, was first out of the gate with a 10 a.m. release calling for an investigation of Sanford’s use of state planes by the Senate Transportation Committee. According to an Associated Press analysis of records the Governor’s Office was forced to give up, Sanford flew on state planes more than former Govs. David Beasley or Jim Hodges. Also, it appeared that he might have violated state law by using the planes for a number of flights related to personal and political events.

“I’ve spent much of my time in public office working to reform the way our state government conducts business,” Sheheen said in a statement. “Blatant abuse of the system and waste of taxpayer dollars should never be allowed to go unchecked -– particularly at a time when our public schools are desperate for every dollar they can get. As a member of the Senate Transportation Committee, I am calling for an immediate investigation into this serious issue. If Gov. Sanford is found to have indeed used state aircraft for personal and political travel, I will seek to ensure that he repays every penny owed to the taxpayers of this state.”

Sheheen had called for Sanford’s resignation after the late June-early July daily series of self-destruction that was heard from the Governor’s Mansion. Rep. Boyd Brown, who had twice previously issued letters to gubernatorial candidate Atty. Gen. Henry McMaster to look into Sanford’s behavior, prodded McMaster again.

In the letter, Brown admonished McMaster for not doing his due diligence in his office — obviously the A.G. had water to complain about or naughty Internet ads to worry about — and said that if McMaster couldn’t do his job he should resign in order to concentrate on his gubernatorial effort.

But, at the end of the business day the biggest news came from Sen. David Thomas, who held a hearing on Sanford’s travel before. Thomas said that as a result of that hearing, he’s going to provide evidence to other legislators proving that Sanford broke state law by opting for high-class travel to international destinations instead of trying to save taxpayer dollars by opting for the least expensive option available.

Thomas, who is running for the GOP nomination for S.C.’s Fourth Congressional District, will probably have something to say about the latest revelations, as well.

UPDATE: And he did, to CNN.

“If I were in the House, the answer would be yes, I would be involved in the beginning of the impeachment process,” Thomas said. “I think there is enough data right now to take seriously a move toward impeachment. Is that sufficient for impeachment? That I don’t know.”