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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- South Carolina voters have re-elected Republican Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom to the state's top accountant job.

Eckstrom defeated Democrat Robert Barber Tuesday, winning re-election with nearly 60 percent of votes cast.

Voters saw the race for the obscure fiscal watchdog position escalate into a war of television ads screaming sex and sensation.

Restaurant owner Barber told voters about an old sexual harassment lawsuit involving Eckstrom and claims that Eckstrom sent romantic e-mails to a woman on state equipment. Eckstrom swiftly responded, rushing out a spot on Barber's past as a lobbyist for groups including the cockfighting industry.

Eckstrom has been comptroller general since 2002. Barber unsuccessfully ran for lieutenant governor in 2006.

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