The Hill News

Freshman Rep. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) will launch a series of town-hall meetings next month for Republican presidential candidates, he said Friday.

Scott, a conservative freshman who is a member of the GOP leadership team, will first host former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman (R) at an Aug. 7 meeting at Charles Towne Landing in the Palmetto State.

The series is meant to help the state's voters vet the GOP presidential candidates ahead of the South Carolina primary next year, one of the earliest and most influential nominating contests of the 2012 cycle.

“South Carolina has chosen every Republican nominee since Ronald Reagan in 1980, and 2012 will be no different,” Scott said in a statement. “Our country cannot take four more years of President Obama. This year, it is more important than ever before that Republicans choose the right candidate, so that we can restore conservative values to the White House and get our country back on track.”