Primary vote Tuesday

Voters across South Carolina will go to the polls from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday to pick a U.S. Senate candidate and to decide several other Republican and Democratic primary contests. As they do, here are three key questions voters will answer:

Who will be the next 9th Circuit solicitor and the next Dorchester County sheriff?

Republican voters in Berkeley and Charleston counties will choose whether Scarlett Wilson remains the top prosecutor or challenger Blair Jennings will get the job. Meanwhile, the Dorchester County GOP primary will decide whether Terry Boatwright or L.C. Knight takes the reins from outgoing Sheriff Ray Nash. Whoever wins these races is virtually guaranteed of taking office because there will be no Democrat on the ballot this fall.

Who will go to Columbia?

Voters will settle several legislative races, including open seats in House Districts 111, 112 and 117, where state Reps. Floyd Breeland, D-Charleston, Ben Hagood, R-Sullivan's Island, and Tom Dantzler, R-Goose Creek, are retiring, respectively. They also will decide hot races in Senate District 42, where Democratic incumbent Sen. Robert Ford faces a challenge from Charleston lawyer Dwayne Green, and Senate District 38, where Republican incumbent Randy Scott faces a challenge from former Sen. Mike Rose.

Who else will be on the ballot this fall?

Voters also will decide a host of county council races and other county-wide offices, such as the Dorchester County treasurer race in which Republican incumbent Mary Pearson faces a challenge from former magistrate Charlene Snowden. Many of the candidates who emerge victorious from Tuesday's primaries — or from the June 24 primary runoffs — will face opposition from the other party in the fall.