Presidential candidates focus campaigns on South Carolina

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS/AP) - Candidates running for the 2016 Presidential nominations are shifting their campaigns to South Carolina ahead of the primaries in two weeks.

Wednesday Florida Senator Marco Rubio is holding a town hall meeting at the Spartanburg Marriott. From there he comes to Columbia, where he will be joined by U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy for a town hall at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.

After that event, Rubio is going to Washington to fulfill his Senate duties. But his campaign says Gowdy will go on to host a town hall on his behalf at the North Charleston Coliseum.

Wednesday Texas Senator Ted Cruz travels to Myrtle Beach, where he and his wife Heidi are holding a rally at Ground Zero, a Christian teen club and concert venue.

Like Rubio, Cruz will return to the Senate, which has called for votes Wednesday. The campaign says his wife will go on to Spartanburg, where she will host a rally at the Summit Pointe Convention Center.

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush holds a rally at Sun City Hilton Head in Bluffton Wednesday. Afterward, he goes to Mount Pleasant for a town hall meeting at the Cooper River Room before another town hall at the VFW Post in Murrells Inlet.

Thursday Bush goes to Florence for a meet-and-greet at Venus Restaurant, then on to Sumter for another meet-and-greet at Baker's Sweets. Bush ends the day with a town hall at Senate's End in Columbia.

Ohio Governor John Kasich is holding a town hall meeting Wednesday at Finn's Brick Oven in Mount Pleasant. Later in the day, he's participating in a veterans jobs event in downtown Charleston.

He's also slated to tour Nucor Steel's facility in Huger and participate in a town hall meeting with employees. On Thursday, the governor is holding town hall meetings in Georgetown, North Myrtle Beach and Florence.

Donald Trump is holding a rally Wednesday night at the T. Ed Garrison Arena on the edge of the Clemson University campus.

The Conservative Leadership Project says Bush, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, Cruz and Rubio are expected to attend its 2016 Faith and Family Presidential Forum.

The gathering planned for Friday in Greenville comes a day before GOP presidential hopefuls meet there for a debate. Candidates take the stage one at a time before Upstate conservative voters, for whom faith is key.

The South Carolina GOP Primary is February 20.

Democratic candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have not released schedules of campaign stops in South Carolina for the next few days. A Democratic debate is tomorrow night in Wisconsin. The Democratic Primary in Nevada is February 20.

The South Carolina Democratic Primary is February 27.

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