Cheney to visit Myrtle Beach, Spartanburg

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Cheney will be the headliner at a July 23 "Celebration for America's Future" to benefit the campaign treasury of the GOP's U.S. Senate candidate, Greenville Congressman Jim DeMint.

It will be Cheney's first trip to South Carolina since he spoke at a July 28, 2003, fund-raiser in Columbia.

The vice president also will speak at a $1,000-per-person invitation-only noon luncheon Aug. 9 at the Spartanburg home of state House Speaker Pro Tem Doug Smith.

House Speaker David Wilkins, the Bush-Cheney state chairman, would neither confirm nor deny plans for the events. He referred inquiries to other state and national party officials, who declined to comment.

But a copy of the Myrtle Beach invitation was obtained by The Greenville News.

The 5:30 p.m. VIP reception and 6 p.m. dinner are being chaired by top elected Republican officials, including Sen. Lindsey Graham, Gov. Mark Sanford and Wilkins.

Ticket prices are tiered, from $10,000 for a table of 10 to $2,000 for the reception and $1,000 for the dinner only, according to the invitation.

Terry Sullivan, DeMint's campaign manager, said the campaign netted approximately $160,000 from a fund-raiser hosted by Graham on Friday at the Lace House in Columbia.

DeMint spent approximately $3 million in winning the nomination over five other candidates and emerged from the June 22 runoff with former Gov. David Beasley with $100,000-$500,000 left over, Sullivan said.

Inez Tenenbaum, the state's education superintendent, is the Democratic nominee. There are four minor party candidates on the ballot to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Ernest F. Hollings.

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Dan Hoover covers politics and can be reached at 298-4883.