Republican Congressman Steve King says he hadn’t anticipated his upcoming trip to South Carolina might spur some to suggest he’s considering a run for president. He said “I hadn’t really thought about what would happen if I set foot in a place like South Carolina, but that’s been an invitation that’s been long-standing for some time.” South Carolina’s “First in the South” Primary is a key opening event in the presidential selection process, but King says he’s not “seriously” considering a run for president in 2016.

In late August King will speak at the “Charleston Meeting” — a private gathering of some of the country’s most influential conservatives. King joked that his role as chairman of the Conservative Opportunity Society in the U.S. House has taught him a valuable lesson that may ease his entry into South Carolina politics: he’s learned to eat grits. King says he made “a lot of good friends” in South Carolina when he was there for a presidential candidate forum in 2011.

He also plans to speak to the 25-hundred cadets at The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina during his visit to the state August .

(Radio Iowa)