Many candidates for the 2016 Republican Party’s nomination for president have already come to  Lexington County. The county produces one of the highest vote totals in the state, especially for Republican candidates.

Release from the South Carolina Republican Party.

South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Matt Moore today announced that 15 current Republican presidential candidates have properly filed their paperwork to appear on South Carolina’s 2016 First-in-the-South Republican presidential primary ballot. The deadline to file was 5:00 P.M. today. The South Carolina Republican presidential primary will be held on Saturday, February 20, 2016.

“The Republican Party has the most diverse, qualified field of candidates in its history and I’m thrilled at the choices voters will have next February,” said South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Matt Moore. “On the other hand, the Democrats’ coronation of Hillary Clinton continues despite her lagging poll numbers and an ongoing FBI investigation into her secret email server.”

Below, in alphabetical order, are the names of the candidates spelled as they will appear on the ballot:

Jeb Bush
Ben Carson
Chris Christie
Ted Cruz
Carly Fiorina
Jim Gilmore
Lindsey Graham
Mike Huckabee
Bobby Jindal
John R. Kasich
George E. Pataki
Rand Paul
Marco Rubio
Rick Santorum
Donald J. Trump

Governor Scott Walker filed for president in South Carolina in late August, but has since withdrawn from the race. Governor Rick Perry did not file in South Carolina before withdrawing from the race.

South Carolina’s First-in-the-South Republican presidential primary has grown in significance over time. Since 1980, no Republican presidential candidate has won the White House without first winning South Carolina’s Republican presidential primary. In 2011/2012, the Republican presidential primary had a $50 million economic impact in the state.