COLUMBIA, S.C. -- The races to lead the state Democratic and Republican parties are shaping up before the state conventions this spring.

State Republican Party Chairman Katon Dawson says he is seeking a third term this May. His announcement Saturday to the state GOP's executive committee came after Kevin Hall, the Columbia lawyer seen as Dawson's most credible challenger, sent Republicans a letter saying he wouldn't run.

Meanwhile, Greenville lawyer Matthew Richardson says he's not running for the open state Democratic Party chairman seat this year.

The Democratic Party chairmanship is up for grabs because party chairman Joe Erwin isn't seeking a third term. Democrats will elect a new chairman at their convention on April 28.

"I think that I will not be running for state party chair this time," Richardson told The Associated Press on Friday.

It's a critical year for South Carolina Democrats as they prepare for the first-in-the-South presidential primary in 2008 -- a January contest scheduled to follow only New Hampshire's primary and caucuses in Iowa and Nevada.

Richardson has been a supporter of former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards' presidential bid. Richardson said he "will continue to help him win the primary here in South Carolina."

That leaves Carol Fowler as the only declared candidate to replace Erwin and run a cash-strapped party struggling to regain clout. In November, Democrats lost one of the two statewide offices they held.

Fowler has considered previous bids, but now "is a good time to do this personally and in terms of what's going on in the party," Fowler said Monday.

While she has no announced challengers, she says she's running as if she will have an opponent.

Trav Robertson, a veteran of running South Carolina campaigns, said Monday he has not made up his mind to challenge Fowler.

Columbia lawyer Joe McCulloch says he also is considering a run. The Democratic party "needs the ability to be able to deliver a mule kick more now than I've seen in years. There are not a lot of mule-kicking people out there," he said.

Charleston lawyer Waring Howe also has been mentioned as a potential candidate. But Howe says he's not running.