SCGOP Chairman Katon Dawson makes historic trip to New Hampshire, announces First-in-the-South presidential primary to be held January 19, 2008

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Katon Dawson today announced the First-in-the-South Republican Party Presidential Primary will be held in South Carolina on Saturday, January 19, 2008. In the Executive Council Chambers of the New Hampshire State House in Concord, Dawson hand delivered a letter to New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner, notifying him of the primary date. “The stakes couldn’t be higher in this election,” said Dawson. “I am proud to be here in New Hampshire to announce our primary date and to solidify a combined 83-year history of our two states being First-In-The-Nation and First-In-The-South – this election cycle and for years to come.” Read more about it here. S.C. GOP sets primary Jan. 19 The State State committed to have first-in-South Republican contest; other states likely to move their dates S.C. Republicans will vote for their party’s presidential nominee Jan. 19, state party chairman Katon Dawson said Thursday, ending months of speculation and – possibly – solidifying the state’s place on the primary calendar. Speaking at the New Hampshire State House in Concord, Dawson said the S.C. party was committed to being the first Southern state to vote next year. “There’s no Southern state ahead of the 19th, and we’re fairly sure it remains that way,” Dawson said in a conference call after the official announcement from New Hampshire, where he was joined by that state’s secretary of state, Bill Gardner. While no other Southern state is scheduled to vote before Jan. 19, Dawson’s move is likely to force Iowa and New Hampshire to move, and conceivably, others could follow suit. Read the entire article here. South Carolina Pushes Up Primary The New York Times Fasten your seatbelts, as Bette Davis once advised, it’s going to be a bumpy ride. South Carolina Republicans have now officially moved their primary up to Jan. 19 from Feb. 2. They made the announcement today in New Hampshire, of all places, a move that will inevitably increase the pressure on Iowa to push up its caucuses to December. Iowa is now faced with a choice here between two dates – one that could make it irrelevant and another that could make it less irrelevant. But no one is sure which is which. Iowa could be merely irrelevant if it votes in January but does not vote first. If Iowa falls after New Hampshire and South Carolina, candidates could decide to skip it as they gear up for bigger prizes in Nevada, Florida and then 20 very important states, including California, New York and Illinois, on Feb. 5. Read the entire article here. The move has gained National and even International attention. CSPAN (Full Video) New York Times Washington Post USA Today ABC News Paid for by the South Carolina Republican Party. Katon Dawson, Chairman. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. Contributions received in response to this solicitation will be deposited into the federal account and are subject to federal contribution limits. Contributions from foreign nationals are prohibited. Contributions are not deductible for income tax purposes. P.O. Box 12373 | Columbia, SC 29211 | (803) 988-8440 © 2007 You are receiving this email because you or someone on your behalf signed up to receive email updates from our organization. To unsubscribe, please reply to this email with “Unsubscribe” in the subject line.