FOX News and the South Carolina Republican Party

COLUMBIA, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FOX News and the South Carolina Republican Party have jointly announced that they will present the first 2008 presidential debate on May 15, 2007. The debate, which is expected to attract the top Republican contenders for President, will be shown live on FOX News Channel (FNC) and FOX News Radio from the University of South Carolina’s Koger Center.

“We look forward to presenting this debate to the nation and are proud to commit the air time and resources to the 2008 presidential election.”

The South Carolina Republican Party is expected to hold its Presidential Primary in early February 2008. There has never been a candidate to lose the South Carolina primary and successfully capture the Party’s nomination for President.

In making this announcement, FOX News Executive Producer of Political Programs Marty Ryan said, “We look forward to presenting this debate to the nation and are proud to commit the air time and resources to the 2008 presidential election.”

Katon Dawson, chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party added, “We are excited that Fox News will carry this important debate to voters all across the country. The ‘First in the South’ Presidential Primary will again play a major role in electing our next president and it is very appropriate that the first in the nation Republican debate take place in South Carolina.”

University of South Carolina Andrew A. Sorenson added, “The University of South Carolina is proud and honored to host this national event on our campus. It is a great opportunity to observe the political process and to have candidates for president debate the critical issues of our time live in front of our faculty, staff, and students.”

The University was founded in 1801 and has a statewide enrollment of over 39,000 students with more than 215,000 alumni around the world.

FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour general news service covering breaking news as well as political, business and entertainment news. For more than four years, FNC has been the most watched cable news channel in the nation and currently presents 11 out of the top 12 programs in cable news. Owned by News Corp., FNC is available in more than 85 million homes.