COLUMBIA, S.C. AP - Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is set to headline the latest iteration of an event previously billed as the largest annual gathering of Republicans in South Carolina, a state traditionally key to picking the GOP's presidential nominees, and one in which she already has deep relationships.
Rep. Sheri Biggs of South Carolina's 3rd District told The Associated Press that Sanders would be the featured speaker at her Salute to Liberty, slated to take place Aug. 18 in Anderson. In an interview last week, Biggs said she felt the governor "represents what the people in the 3rd District believe in, our morals, just down-to-earth hardworking people that love the Lord and want to live in peace with their families and uphold our conservative values."
Historically a catalyst for Republican White House hopefuls, the South Carolina venue provides Sanders a chance to introduce herself to a large number - typically around 2,000 - of party activists. It's also a crowd with which President Donald Trump - whom she served as press secretary during his first administration - remains popular.
Sanders, whose name comes up among potential 2028 presidential contenders, has been making trips to South Carolina since her father, former Arkansas governor and current U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, sought the 2008 GOP nomination. She's recently been in other early-voting states herself, including a speech earlier this month at the Family Leadership Summit in Iowa, an annual event held by a conservative Christian group.
For years, the South Carolina occasion was billed as Rep. Jeff Duncan's Faith Freedom BBQ, a fundraiser benefiting his reelection campaign. In a conservative-rich area, it became a showcase for future White House contenders, including then-Vice President Mike Pence, Sens. Ted Cruz, Tim Scott and Marco Rubio, and former U.N. Ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.