Sarah Drawdy is a political newcomer, but she has quickly taken to getting her message out as a candidate for the 10th Circuit Solicitor’s job.

Chrissy Adams is finishing her first four-year term as the 10th Circuit Solicitor and is running on her record of experience.

The race has been anything but sleepy. Both women will be candidates in the June 10 primary as Republicans.

“I am a proven solicitor with a 14-year prosecution track record, trying every major felony out there,” said Adams, who was admitted to the state bar association in November 1994.

Her office, she said, has the state’s highest trial conviction rate, with convictions for 39 of 44 warrants in fiscal year 2007. Her opponent, Adams said, has a way to go to gain that kind of experience.

“My opponent has only been the lead prosecutor on drug cases, not even a murder case,” Adams said.

Drawdy, admitted to the state bar in May 2004, said she left a job with the 10th Judicial Circuit after campaigning for former Solicitor Druanne White, who lost to Adams in 2004. Between July 2004 and September 2007, Drawdy, who graduated from law school in 2003, worked as an assistant solicitor in Spartanburg.

Adams, 40, who said she would continue her promise of prosecuting death-penalty cases, disputes Drawdy’s campaign tactics. Those tactics suggest that Adams has failed to actively prosecute illegal immigrants, Adams said.

“(Drawdy) doesn’t understand the system, or she is playing on the heartstrings of people,” she said. “If I could deport them, I would.

“All we can do as solicitor is convict criminals. Judges sentence based on the crime committed. If a crime calls for probation, that is what a person gets. Judges’ sentences are based on facts, not immigration status. The federal government is the only agency with the authority to deport.”

The Republican who wins the June 10 primary will take office in January. There is no Democrat running for the office.

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