Tom Barton covers breaking news for The Island Packet. He is a Davenport, Iowa, native and 2007 graduate of Iowa State University. Before coming to the Island Packet he worked as a reporter at The Des Moines Register. He moved to Bluffton in July 2010. | 
Brian Heffernan covers the Town of Hilton Head Island for The Island Packet. He is a native of St. Louis, Missouri and a graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism. | Republican presidential candidate and Libertarian stalwart Ron Paul will stump for state Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, next week.
The Texas congressman is scheduled to meet with Davis supporters during a fundraiser Monday in Columbia. Davis is seeking re-election to a second term representing Beaufort County.
Davis endorsed Paul in South Carolina’s first-in-the-South Republican presidential primary Jan. 21.
“My No. 1 goal as an elected official has always been to limit the size and scope of government and to promote the free market economy and individual liberty,” Davis said. “I endorsed Congressman Ron Paul in the recent GOP presidential primary because he has stood for those same things throughout his three decades in public life, to a degree and with a passion unmatched by any other candidate. ...
“I am honored to have Ron Paul as a special guest ... and it is my hope the event kick-starts momentum for true free-market, individual-liberty reforms in our state government.”
U.S. News & World Report says infighting is getting worse between Ron Paul supporters and some state leaders of the Republican Party as the GOP national convention approaches.
Paul has refused to drop out of the presidential race and endorse the party’s presumptive nominee, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, as other GOP candidates have done.
Here are the details of Monday’s event:
WHO: S.C. State Sen. Tom Davis and U.S. Rep Ron Paul, R-Texas
COST: Suggested contribution of $150 per person and $250 per couple, “but any amount is appreciated”
WHAT: Fundraiser to support Davis’ re-election
WHEN: 6-8 p.m. Monday
WHERE: 701 Whaley at 701 Whaley St., Columbia
CONTACT: Nancy Mace at nancy@macegroupllc.com or 843-817-3226