COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Republican Party has officially certified seven candidates for the party's 2024 presidential primary on February 24.
SC GOP Party Chairman Drew McKissick certified and signed the list of candidates Thursday, Dec. 28, and sent the list to the State Election Commission. The list includes (alphabetically):
- Ryan Binkley, founder of the multiethnic, multigenerational Create Church in Richardson, Texas
- Chris Christie, former governor of New Jersey
- Ron DeSantis, Governor of Florida
- Nikki Haley, former SC governor, UN Ambassador in the Trump administration
- Vivek Ramaswamy, entrepreneur, founder of Roivant Sciences pharmaceutical
- David Stuckenberg, acting director of strategic plans at HQ Texas Air National Guard, co-founder of Genesis Systems
- Donald Trump, former president
With the GOP presidential primary on February 24 (a Saturday), here are some important dates and information to remember:
- the deadline to register to vote is 30 days before any election you wish to vote in, so make sure you are registered to vote, or your registration information is up to date by January 24 if you wish to vote in the GOP primary.
- the GOP early voting period is 8:30am-6pm beginning Monday, February 12, through Thursday, February 22.
- military and registered overseas voters should expect to receive their ballots by January 10 and they must be completed and returned no later than 7 p.m. February 24, if you are voting Republican.
- you can choose to vote in the Republican primary or the Democrat primary (February 3) but not both
CANDIDATE POLLING
The latest Rasmussen Report, ending Dec. 21, has former president Trump ahead of all candidates with a projected 51%, with Haley second at 13%.
Heading into the New Hampshire GOP primary, it is a muck closer result, according to American Research Group poll that has Trump at 33% with Haley at 29%. Those numbers are reflected in the Saint Anslem College Survey Center for New Hampshire that has Trump at 44% and Haley at 30%.