USC readies SC voters with presidential primaries panel Tuesday

The presidential campaign is under way, with eyes turned on South Carolina as the first primary state in the South leading up to the 2016 presidential election.

To help voters prepare, the University of South Carolina will host a “Symposium on Presidential Primaries in South Carolina” Tuesday that will feature a panel of national political reporters, state political party chairmen, polling experts and scholars.

South Carolina’s Republican presidential primary is Feb. 20, the Democratic primary Feb. 27.

Charles Bierbauer, dean of the College of the Information and Communications and a former White House correspondent, will moderate the panel of six.

The panelists will include:

Karen Tumulty, national political correspondent with the Washington Post

Alexis Simendinger, White House correspondent for RealClearPolitics

Jaime Harrison, chairman of the S.C. Democratic Party

Matt Moore, chairman of the S.C. Republican Party

Scott Huffmon, a political science professor at Winthrop University who directs the center that produces the well-known Winthrop Poll

Laura Woliver, a political science professor at USC and an authority on gender and politics and political interest groups.

The event, set for the night before the next GOP presidential debate, will be at 7 p.m. in the Capstone House on the university’s campus at 915 Gregg St.

From Staff Reports