The Beaufort County Republican Party and affiliated groups are hosting grand openings Saturday for campaign offices in Beaufort and Bluffton and on Hilton Head Island.
The events will feature food, political talk, and appearances by U.S. Rep. Tim Scott, R-Charleston.
Scott is running against Democrat Bobbie Rose in a district that was redrawn after the 2012 Census and will now include most of Beaufort County. He said the visits offer a chance to meet with, and hopefully fire up, local Republicans.
"It certainly is a really great opportunity to thank the folks that are setting up the Republican headquarters and thank them for their commitment to ... a very important election," he said this week from Washington, D.C.
Scott said he's visited the county several times since his district was redrawn and plans to be here several more times before the Nov. 6 election.
"This is just another stop on the journey of getting to know as many people as possible in the area," he said.
With few contested races in Beaufort County this fall, the campaign offices will give local volunteers an opportunity to affect campaigns outside South Carolina, said Jerry Hallman, chairman of the Beaufort County Republican Party.
"We are trying to energize the area, but basically we are going to have phone banks in each one of the offices, and we are going to spend a lot of time calling the swing states," he said. "That's going to be a our purpose this year -- helping others."
The grand openings begin Saturday at noon at the Beaufort office at 1180 Ribaut Road. The event will feature barbecue from Sgt. White's Diner and other refreshments.
The Bluffton-Sun City campaign office, at 11 Arley Way, Suite 203, will hold its grand opening from 1:30 to 3 p.m. with refreshments sponsored by the Scott campaign.
The grand opening of the Hilton Head office, in the Port Royal Plaza shopping center off Mathews Drive, will begin at 3:30 p.m.
Scott is expected to be in Beaufort from 12:30 to 1:30, in Bluffton starting at about 2 p.m., and at the Hilton Head office at about 3:30 p.m., Hallman said.
The county's Democratic Party and local Democratic clubs have operated campaign offices in Beaufort and on Hilton Head for several weeks.
Related content
Mark Sanford sworn in -- a member of Congress again
