THE sitting MP for South Antrim, the Ulster Unionist Clifford Forsythe, is a dead cert for re-election.
First elected in 1983, he has the largest majority over any party in any other constituency in Northern Ireland he polled 24,500 votes more than his nearest rival in the last West minister elections and he has the 17th-largest majority in the United Kingdom.
He is also known as the Quiet Man of Northern Ireland politics, a rather incongruous title. He dismisses this carping. "My constituents give the answer to that and adds modestly that he does not need to go to the press every time he does something for his area. "It is not my job to get credit for it.
While few have heard of Mr Forsythe, many may recognise him from years ago as a professional footballer with Linfield and Derry City. He is very well known in his area and is regarded as an enthusiastic, hard-working MP, even by some of his opponents, who admit that they find him a charming gentleman.
His only unionist opposition is the Progressive Unionist Party which has close links with the UVF. Standing on the PUP ticket is Mr Hugh Smyth, a former Belfast lord mayor who is surprisingly confident of winning, or at least of seriously denting Mr Forsythe's majority.
While Mr Smyth, who began in politics as a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1974, genuinely believes the unionist electorate in Antrim is ready for a change and he is the man for the job, it is unlikely the generally conservative unionist electorate will opt for him.
Although a prosperous farming constituency, it has not escaped the prevailing sectarian tension. Experiencing this at first hand is the SDLP's Donovan McClelland. Two Catholic churches have been hit by arsonists and he has been the target of two loyalist bomb hoaxes in recent weeks, the latest on Saturday at his home in Antrim.
Canvassing on a nationalist platform in unionist-dominated South Antrim is not easy but he remains undaunted. Mr McClelland insists that voters should be given a choice and is confident of increasing his vote in this election.
The Alliance Party general secretary David Ford is also standing but admits he has a slender chance of being elected.
However, out canvassing he feels that many unionists in the area are reluctant to vote UUP this time, as they are unhappy about its leader David Trimble's conduct during Drumcree last year.
Naturally, Mr Forsythe does not impress the Sinn Fein candidate Henry Cushinan, who said he never sees or hears about Mr Forsythe except during elections.
Mr Cushinan is frank enough to admit he hasn't a chance of ousting the Ulster Unionist but is standing to "give the nationalist people a chance to express their opinion on the peace process".
The Natural Law Party's candidate, Barbara Briggs, believes the conflict in Northern Ireland can be solved rapidly by establishing a group of 200 people practising transcendental meditation and logic flying on a daily basis in one location in the North. Will that location be South Antrim?