Exclusive — Ted Cruz, Donald Trump to Keynote 2016 South Carolina Tea Party Convention

Breitbart News has confirmed that Senator Ted Cruz will address the 2016 South Carolina Tea Party Coalition Convention on Saturday Jan 16 at 2:20pm.

The convention, seen by analysts as “a seminal event” in the run-up to the state’s “first in the South” primary, runs daily from January 16th – 18th, from 8:30 AM to 6:00 PM. Donald Trump, Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum are also scheduled to speak.

The South Carolina GOP primary is slated for Saturday, February 20.

“We are proud to host Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz, Gov.Mike Huckabee, Carly Fiorina and Sen. Rick Santorum as they are given an uninterrupted 20+ minutes to layout their policies and vision for this nation,” said Joe Dugan, founder and executive producer of the South Carolina Tea Party, calling the convention a “defining event before the early primary season.”

Dugan also said the event will provide candidates with a forum to earn Tea Party supporters’ “trust” at a time when there’s little of it to be found in American politics.

While Trump continues to lead GOP presidential polling nationally, Cruz recently surged to the lead in Iowa in a new poll from the Des Moines Register and Bloomberg News.

The business mogul currently leads the Real Clear Politics polling average for South Carolina, 28.8% to 17.3% for Dr. Ben Carson and 14.5% for Sen. Cruz.

Trump also spoke at last year’s South Carolina Tea Party Convention.

Real estate magnate and potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will test the waters in the nation’s first-in-the-south primary state, South Carolina, this month. He will deliver a keynote address to the South Carolina Tea Party convention in Myrtle Beach.

“I look forward to being with my friends in South Carolina,” Trump said in a statement provided to Breitbart News. “I have always had great admiration for the people and state of South Carolina. It will be a wonderful afternoon.”

Joe Dugan, the head of the Myrtle Beach Tea Party and organizer of the annual conference, praised Trump—a solid opponent of amnesty—for making the trip down.

“Our mission is providing South Carolinians an opportunity to hear directly from experts, elected officials and national voices,” Dugan said. “We’re looking forward to a great event this year and are please to have Mr. Trump join our stellar lineup as they address the critical issues facing our state and the nation.”