REPUBLICAN — Charlie Hartz

• Small-business owner and first-term state representative.
• Supports cutting state income taxes and reducing wasteful spending.
• Prioritizes Aiken County road and infrastructure funding.
• Supports strong funding for law enforcement and first responders.
• Supports school choice, higher teacher pay and parental rights.
• Pro-life and strongly supportive of Second Amendment rights. 

DEMOCRAT — Pete Swales

• Democratic challenger with no legislative voting record.
• The materials reviewed contain relatively limited publicly documented policy detail compared with Hartz's established legislative and campaign record.

The Choice

Hartz is running on an established conservative platform centered on taxes, roads, public safety, parental rights and business-friendly policy. Swales offers a Democratic alternative but currently has a less developed public policy record.

This comparison is based on candidate campaign materials, public records and other publicly available information. Positions are summarized for voter information; readers are encouraged to review each candidate's own statements and campaign materials for additional detail.