Here are the GOP presidential candidates who have campaigned in Myrtle Beach for your vote

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis drilled Joe Biden and looked to put space between the president’s “woke” agenda and his own brand of hard line conservatism that needs to occupy the White House over the next generation.

He is the second GOP presidential nominee to host a public appearance in the region this year. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley held a rally at Horry-Georgetown Technical College in March.

U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., sat down with Fox News pundit Sean Hannity on June 20 for a network town hall, though the event was closed to media.

GOP presidential candidates who have yet to visit the Grand Strand during the 2024 election cycle include:

• Doug Bugrum, North Dakota governor

• Chris Christie, former New Jersey governor

• Larry Elder, conservative talk show host

• Asa Hutchinson, former Arkansas governor

• Mike Pence, former vice president

• Vivek Ramaswamy, tech entrepreneur

• Donald Trump, former president

In 2020, Horry County delivered 120,000 Republican votes for Trump, second only to Greenville County.

“Horry County is a powerful voting bloc that most GOP candidates are not going to ignore. The math alone makes it a compelling place to campaign,” Horry County Republican Party chairman Reese Boyd said.

Campaigning in Myrtle Beach Oct. 20 during a swing across South Carolina to roll out his veterans’ coalition, the 45-year-old GOP presidential hopeful backed efforts by a local Moms for Liberty chapter to ban materials in Horry County’s public schools they deem to be sexually explicit.

“Parents have a right to know the curriculum that’s being used in their kids’ schools,” DeSantis said during a nearly hour-long speech. “You can get whatever book you want. Heck, you can go and view Hunter Biden’s laptop, I don’t care. But don’t bring it into the classroom with these young kids.”

The governor’s appearance in South Carolina’s fastest growing county comes as its Republican Party recovers from months of infighting over who actually is running it.

In April, Boyd was tapped to chair the party at a convention that featured a cameo by Donald Trump.

Boyd was in attendance for DeSantis’ appearance, and he expects other potential top ticket Republicans to court Horry County voters.

“Mike Pence already planned an event here once, but had to cancel at the last minute due to the birth of a grandchild on that day; former Gov. Nikki Haley has been here and Gov. DeSantis visited with us today. I am hopeful that before the campaign is done we’ll see all the major candidates come to Horry County,” Boyd said.

Although DeSantis didn’t directly reference the local party’s tumultuous year, he pointed to the U.S. House’s inability to pick a speaker as an example of why a strong Republican president is necessary.

“It’s just like the gang that can’t shoot straight. They’re running around like chickens with their heads cut off,” DeSantis said. “And it’s kind of a synopsis of what’s wrong with Washington. The sense that it’s all about drama. It’s all about the theater of politics.”

DeSantis several times pulled from Donald Trump’s playbook to attack journalists and lampoon Biden’s physical fitness to an overwhelmingly white crowd of more than 200 at Ground Zero, a downtown Christian youth organization.

Political tracking site FiveThirtyEight.com shows DeSantis lagging in South Carolina among likely GOP presidential contenders. As of Oct. 18, DeSantis was polling at 12.7% — ahead of Scott but trailing Haley.

Trump remains the favorite among Republican voters statewide, sitting at 46.6%.

DeSantis also vowed to authorize lethal force against people with known ties to drug cartels, particularly along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“We can’t succeed as a country if every area is a crime-ridden hellhole,” DeSantis said. He spent an earlier part of Oct. 20 meeting with hundreds at a Murrells Inlet VFW.

Alyssa Bradley, a spokeswoman for the S.C. Democratic Party, said DeSantis has a record of hampering access to healthcare for veterans, including his refusal to expand Medicaid in his home state.

“DeSantis has spent his political career opposing support for veterans — voting against federal funding for the VA, blocking affordable health care for Florida veterans, and putting MAGA culture wars above national security. South Carolina veterans see right through DeSantis for the failure he truly is,” Bradley said.

He departed the Oct. 20 event without fielding questions from reporters. A campaign staffer said he was behind schedule to make a flight.

Wearing a Ron DeSantis T-shirt and ball cap, Joe Testa of Myrtle Beach said the governor’s focus on deregulation and border security made him the best choice for president among a crowded Republican field.

“Everything he stands for, the United States needs something like that now,” Testa said. “He’ll win if he keeps standing behind saying what he’s going to do.”