So, it begins.
Former President Donald Trump has decided it’s time to get started rolling out his 2024 presidential campaign and he’s selected the state of South Carolina as the first stop on his inevitable cross-country rally tour.
Trump 2024 Campaign Event
When: Saturday, January 28, 2023
Time: 4 pm ET
Where: The State House in Columbia, South Carolina (Directions)
Tickets: No tickets are required
Live Stream: Coming soon
The event will be live-streamed and feature several prominent guests including South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, among others:
Republican former President Donald Trump on Jan. 28 will make the first public appearance of his 2024 presidential run in the early voting state of South Carolina since announcing his candidacy in November, his campaign announced on Tuesday.
Two well-known South Carolina Republicans – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, one of Trump’s most loyal backers, and Governor Henry McMaster – will join Trump at the State House in Columbia as he unveils his campaign’s state leadership team, according to the announcement.
The announcement comes on the heels of a fresh Morning Consult poll of Republican primary voters which puts Trump firmly in the driver’s seat of the 2024 Republican primary:
NEW: Tracking the 2024 Republican Primary
Donald Trump: 48%
Ron DeSantis: 31%
Mike Pence: 8%
Liz Cheney: 3%
Nikki Haley: 2%
Ted Cruz: 2%
Greg Abbott: 1%
Kristi Noem: 1%
Mike Pompeo: 1%
Tim Scott: 1%
Glenn Youngkin: 0%
Someone Else: 1% https://t.co/4CBfh5hte0 pic.twitter.com/8lDIruFCoC— Morning Consult (@MorningConsult) January 18, 2023
The decision to kick off his campaigning this year in the Palmetto State isn’t a coincidence and falls in line with another popular Republican from whom Trump has often borrowed themes, Ronald Reagan:
When former President Donald Trump holds his first public campaign event in South Carolina later this month, he’ll be taking a page out of Ronald Reagan’s playbook. Sort of.
In 1980, when Reagan delivered a 45-minute speech on the Statehouse steps in Columbia, he had already clinched the GOP presidential nomination. Red, white and blue balloons floated through the air as the former movie star turned and smiled at the cameras while an estimated 10,000 people cheered him on.
South Carolina is a crucial early primary state and Trump will need to maintain the strong base of support he’s built in the south moving into next year. It’s largely expected that the 2024 primary for Trump may play out similarly to 2016 which is to say it won’t be a coronation. While Trump was the early favorite among a decent chunk of the Republican primary electorate in 2016, he still faced some critical headwinds from candidates like Ted Cruz and even John Kasich down the stretch.
In 2024, those names will be replaced with candidates like Ron DeSantis and possibly Glenn Youngkin, to name a few. So far, as the above polling shows, Trump has maintained consolidation on nearly half of GOP primary voters. That varies from state to state of course, but nationally, he’s actually in better standing than he was when he announced his 2016 candidacy back in June of 2015.
Look for the live stream available on Jan. 28 to cover Trump’s first 2024 campaign event with the former president scheduled to speak around 4 pm ET.
As always, follow the Trump rally schedule to stay up-to-date on all upcoming campaign events.
Donate Now to Support Election Central
- Help defend independent journalism
- Directly support this website and our efforts