The Democrats would need to pick up 17 seats next year to take control of the House from the GOP. Kendra Stewart, a political science professor at the College of Charleston, says a win here won’t change the balance, but it would count as a symbolic victory for whichever party prevails.
“The Democrats need this seat to demonstrate that they can still win seats in the South, even though they haven’t in quite some time,” Stewart says. “And for the Republicans, maintaining control sends the message that they still are the party of the South.”
http://wamc.org/post/democrats-have-high-hopes-defeating-sanford-sc