COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – The Republican presidential nominating has moved into the South, where seven states – Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas – will anchor the Super Tuesday primaries on March 1.
But first comes South Carolina on Feb. 20. The GOP field headed Wednesday to the Palmetto State, and most will be there through the next Republican debate on Saturday night. Here’s a look at the state that’s next on the GOP’s primary calendar:
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THREE-LEGGED STOOL
More than 700,000 people could vote in South Carolina’s Republican primary, dwarfing the 180,000 Iowa caucus-goers and 284,000 voters who cast ballots in New Hampshire. Among them are every kind of Republican, and political pros say the state mirrors the “three-legged stool” – social conservatives/evangelicals, fiscal/business conservatives and national security hawks – of the overall GOP.