Instead of holding individual county conventions this year, Republicans from Orangeburg, Calhoun and Bamberg counties will meet Saturday for the convention of the 6th Congressional District.
The district convention, which will be held at Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School, begins with registration at 10 a.m., followed by the convention itself at 11 a.m. S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster will be the guest speaker. Admission for delegates, alternates and guests is $10. Lunch will be served.
Celestine Parker, chairman of the 6th Congressional District Republicans, says the convention shouldn't last too long.
"We register at 10, the convention meeting is at 11 and, hopefully, we'll totally be finished by 12," Parker said. "We'll have lunch and everybody should be out by quarter to one or one."
The primary convention business will be to elect six delegates to the national convention: three delegates and three alternates.
"We'll also elect officers for the next four years," Parker said. "We're hoping for upwards of 100, that's what we're expecting. We didn't realize it was Easter weekend until it was too late. We're holding our breath! Hopefully, we'll have a great time."
For a Republican hoping to become a delegate to the national convention in Minneapolis/St. Paul in September, Orangeburg County GOP Chairman Jim Ulmer suggests that the opportunity for selection is greater in the 6th Congressional District. The 6th District is largely Democratic, while the 2nd District is mostly Republican.
"It's a lot easier, or somewhat easier, to be elected a national delegate if you live in the 6th District than in the 2nd District," Ulmer said. "There's a whole lot of competition in the 2nd District."
At any rate, Ulmer says a visit to the district convention should be of interest to just about anyone.
"It's very educational," he said. "If they're not active, they can learn a lot about civics."
In addition to Orangeburg, Calhoun and Bamberg counties, the sprawling district includes parts of Florence, Williamsburg, Georgetown, Berkeley, Colleton, Dorchester, Sumter and Clarendon counties.
The 2nd Congressional District convention will be held at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center in Columbia on April 26.
T&D Government Writer Tucker Lyon can be reached at tlyon@timesanddemocrat.com or by calling 803-533-5545.