SC Primary Court

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) _ South Carolina’s Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to take a case challenging the state’s authority to conduct the GOP’s first-in-the-South presidential primary in January. Papers are due in court next week, but no hearing date has been set. On Monday, Beaufort, Chester, Greenville and Spartanburg counties said the state Election Commission lacks the authority to run the primary and can’t force them to pick up part of the tab for the contest. The counties estimate the primary will cost $2 million, with the state and the South Carolina Republican Party picking up about $1.3 million or about 65 percent of the tab. South Carolina’s political parties paid for their own presidential candidate contests until 2008.