GREENWOOD — This story has been corrected from its original version

Incumbent Republican state Sen. Billy O’Dell is running for re-election for the District 4 seat with a very different platform than the challenger Democrat Leonardo Ortiz.

O’Dell, 70, of Greenwood, is the retired chairman of the board for the O’Dell Corporation, which manufactures mops and brooms. He is seeking his sixth term in office that represents parts of Anderson, Abbeville and Greenwood counties. He is running on an education and business platform.

“What we have done, and are still doing, is provide incentives and make sure the regulations we put in place are reasonable for business interests,” O’Dell said. “South Carolina is a very business friendly state. I want to maintain that.”

O’Dell has stressed the need for attracting better industries to the area in the near future. He also touted his work to put in new sewer lines in his district and believes that the area will never attract better industries without the infrastructure.

O’Dell has worked to stiffen regulations for driving under the influence and voted in May to support raising the cigarette tax.

The South Carolina Chamber of Commerce will name him the Public Servant of the Year next month, O’Dell said. He also said there are dedicated teachers and administrators in his district and he wants to make sure they receive proper funding.

“I have always been a supporter of education,” O’Dell said. “I worked with the education community to try to enhance the facilities.”

Ortiz, 51, of Anderson said that he wants to run for the District 4 seat because he has been concerned about the economic downturn of the economy since 2001. He is particularly worried about the loss of jobs in the area over the last few years.

“My primary goal is to help attract 50,000 new jobs over the next four years to provide for alternative fuels, and for mass transit, in order to lower the cost of transportation in South Carolina,” Ortiz said.

He also wants to explore extending bus service to Belton, Honea Path, Star and Iva.

Ortiz said that a major difference between him and O’Dell is he feels the lower Anderson County area has been forgotten. He would like to make sure there is plenty of funding for school districts in the lower part of the county.

“I basically live in the center of the district,” Ortiz said. “In going out and about, I see this area is a diamond in the rough that needs polishing. All of the money and attention is going to north Anderson.”

Ortiz said that he did not support the May bill cigarette tax bill because it would raise the tax from $.70 to $5.70 a carton, which would discourage North Carolina and Georgia residents from buying cigarettes in South Carolina.

Ortiz said that raising the state cigarette tax to $2.40 a carton is more reasonable because it will bring in additional revenue but still keep the tax low enough for out-of-state residents to come buy cigarettes.