GOP presidential candidates to address weekend Tea Party convention in Myrtle Beach

Half of the Republican presidential contenders will be in Myrtle Beach this weekend to address the South Carolina Tea Party Coalition Convention in an attempt to convince voters they are worthy of winning the state’s primary election next month.

“My instructions are to take off the gloves and tell the whole truth,” said founder and event organizer Joe Dugan. “We are tired of hearing the lies out of Washington, and the American people deserve to hear what is really going on.”

Each candidate will get 40 minutes to address the convention and mingle with voters afterwards.

“There will be no media asking kindergarten questions and trying to start a food fight,” Dugan said.

“Our mission is to get them to share their message with as many people as possible – we really do want to have informed voters going to the polling place for the primary and general election,” Dugan said.

Scheduled speakers on Saturday include GOP frontrunner Donald Trump at 4:30 p.m., U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas at 2:20 p.m. and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee at 11:20 a.m.

On Sunday, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum will address the convention at 2:20 p.m. and former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore will speak at 4:30 p.m. The lone speaker on Monday will be Ben Carson at 11:20 a.m.

The candidates who will not be at the convention but participated in the Republican debate in North Charleston on Thursday night are U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

Businesswoman Carly Fiorina was scheduled to attend the Tea Party gathering in Myrtle Beach but canceled shortly after she was denied a main stage seat at the North Charleston debate. U.S. Sen. Rand Paul also declined to participate in the debate and Tea Party event.

Dugan said Tea Party members want to vote for a candidate they can trust, and are fed up with the lack of transparency in Washington and backroom deals they say were cut to pass the recent $1.8 trillion spending bill.

They want to hear about issues affecting national security including threats that are emerging from the Middle East, China and Russia.

Voters also want to hear the candidates address the economy, how jobs can be created, borders can be protected and Second Amendment rights preserved.

“We can’t just listen to false promises that candidates give us on the campaign stump, we have to get policies in detail and make a judgment about whether they are telling us the truth or not,” Dugan said.

Only two polls have been conducted in South Carolina since December and both show Trump in the lead, followed by Cruz, Rubio, Carson and Bush.

The CBS News/YouGov poll conducted Dec. 14 - 17 shows Trump is ahead with 38 percent followed by Cruz with 23 percent, while The Augusta Chronicle poll conducted Dec. 16 shows Trump ahead with 28 percent followed by Cruz with 21 percent. Rubio fell in the third place in both polls with 12 percent.

Trump still has a commanding lead in national polls, while Cruz has a slight lead in polls for the Iowa Caucus, according to polling averages by Real Clear Politics.

The Tea Party convention is being held at Springmaid Beach Resort, and 30 speakers will participate including South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson.

Dugan says the event has attracted attention from the international media in Australia, Scandinavia and Germany, and that the convention’s website will livestream all of the speeches. The convention website is http://southcarolinateapartycoalition.com/ and tickets to attend are still available.

Hudson can be reached at 843-444-1765.

This story was originally published January 14, 2016 at 11:16 PM with the headline "GOP presidential candidates to address weekend Tea Party convention in Myrtle Beach."