COLUMBIA, SC (WSPA) — Ten candidates are expected to be on the ballot for next year’s GOP Primary in South Carolina.
The ‘First in the South’ GOP Primary is scheduled to take place February 24, 2024. To appear on the ballot, each candidate needed to file paperwork and pay a $50,000 filing fee.
The deadline to do all this was Tuesday at 5 p.m.
The list of candidates includes:
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
- Former President Donald Trump
- Vivek Ramaswamy
- Senator Tim Scott
- Former South Carolina Gov. & U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley
- Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie
- North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum
- Ryan Binkley
- David Stuckenberg
- John Anthony Castro
Dr. Mikel Norris, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Coastal Carolina University said South Carolina, like other early voting states, plays a crucial role in a candidate’s path to the White House.
Dr. Norris said, “The states at the beginning of the process, regardless of their size, tend to have undue influence in the selection of a party’s nominee.”
Since 1980, the winner of the South Carolina Republican Primary has gone on to win the party’s nomination in every election selection except in 2012. Dr. Norris said South Carolina will be very important for the two native South Carolinians, Haley and Scott.
Candidates have until early January to have their name taken off the ballot if they decide to end their campaigns. Dr. Norris said candidates may drop out due to a lack of funding or poor results in the first two contests in Iowa or New Hampshire.
Candidates could begin to file for South Carolina’s Democratic Primary Wednesday morning. The deadline for candidates to file is next Wednesday. That primary is scheduled to take place on February 3, 2024.
