Update: S.C. to Host Several GOP Presidential Debates Before January Primary

South Carolina will be home to several Republican presidential debates before the primary in January. 

The South Carolina Republican Party will partner with Fox News to hold a "First in the South" Republican Presidential Debate in Myrtle Beach on Jan. 16, SCGOP Chairman Chad Connelly announced Friday.

The party is also sponsoring another debate with CBS at Wofford College on Nov. 12 that will focus on national security, according to a report in The State newspapaer.

The Southern Republican Leadership Conference — a four-day conference attended by Republican Party activists, elected officials and presidential candidates — is holding its Presidential Town Hall Debate in Charleston on Jan. 19. The debate will be broadcast on CNN.

The debates all lead up to South Carolina's presidential primary scheduled for Jan. 21. 

To protect its first-in-the-south status, the S.C. Republican Party was  after Florida moved its March primary to Jan. 31.