Democratic strategists have South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District — represented by five-term Republican Henry E. Brown Jr. — on their target list for the 2010 elections.

This is not surprising, given that Brown, usually an easy winner in the Republican-leaning Charleston-based district, had an unusually close call in 2008, defeating businesswoman Linda Ketner by just 52 percent to 48 percent. While the Democrats will have to find a new challenger, as Ketner has declined to seek a rematch, they won’t have to look far with five potential candidates mulling the race.

But to get to the fall campaign, Brown will first have to overcome some very high-profile Republican competition.

His leading prospective challenger in June’s GOP primary, Carroll Campbell III, is a governmental affairs consultant who would enter the race with significant, albeit inherited, name recognition. His father, the late Carroll Campbell Jr., was governor from 1987 to 1995 and was in the vanguard of South Carolina’s conversion from its traditional Southern Democratic roots to its current status as a Republican stronghold.

The younger Campbell “has been, for lack of a better phrase, on a listening and talking tour,” said Brent Littlefield, a consultant with his campaign exploratory committee. “All signs point to yes, to use an old phrase, but he hasn’t made a formal announcement.”

The cornerstone of Campbell’s fledgling campaign is opposition to what he calls wasteful federal spending, a label he places on the economic stimulus legislation (PL 111-5) enacted in February and congressional spending earmarks for specific projects.

It is a message that Campbell hopes to contrast with parts of Brown’s record. While Brown joined a unanimous bloc of House Republicans in voting against the stimulus measure, he backed a buyout of mortgage-backed securities to address the nation’s financial crisis. Brown also is the most prolific Republican in the state’s delegation in terms of steering federal cash to district projects — something that typically has been regarded as a great political asset for an incumbent, but is now seen by a number of conservatives as part of the problem in Washington.

Also exploring a bid in the 2010 primary is Katherine Jenerette, a former district field representative for Brown who has turned against her old boss and challenged him in the 2008 primary. Jenerette, an Army veteran of the first Persian Gulf War, trailed Brown in that three-way contest by a landslide vote of 70 percent to 19 percent.

“I think there is a wind out there that wants change,” said Jenerette, citing recent “tea party” and town hall protests staged by conservative activists. “The Republican Party is looking for something different.”

Brown, though, is gearing up for a tough 2010 election year after drawing criticism from some fellow Republicans for deferring serious campaigning and fundraising until late in the 2008 cycle. Brown at mid-year held a big money advantage, with $610,000 in cash on hand to Campbell’s $50,000. Jenerette — whose still-open House campaign account had only $60 in new receipts over the first six months of the year and $460 cash on hand — said she does not expect to raise much money and will instead focus on running a “grass-roots campaign.”

Democratic insiders say that they expect Brown to overcome his primary opposition, and are preparing to face him in the general election.

“I fully anticipate — fully anticipate — that Henry Brown will win” the Republican primary, said Donald Fowler, the South Carolinian who chaired the Democratic National Committee from 1995 to 1997. “Everybody has always misjudged Henry, they’ve always underestimated him.”

Democrats, though, haven’t had any trouble finding candidates eager to take on Brown. State Rep. Leonidas E. “Leon” Stavrinakis and Charleston attorney Robert Barber, a former state representative, are considering running. Also exploring bids are Air Force Col. Robert D. Burton; Ashley Cooper, a Charleston attorney; and businessman Robert Dobbs, a former Republican who identifies himself with the Blue Dog coalition of conservative-leaning House Democrats.