Cory Booker will bring his 2020 campaign to Charleston on Sat. March 2

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Sen. Cory Booker will stop in Charleston to meet with potential 2020 voters on Sat. March 2.

Saturday’s event will begin at 2:30 p.m. at the Burke High School gym in downtown Charleston. Doors will open at 1:30 p.m. The event is co-hosted by the Charleston County Democratic Party and the local chapter of Indivisible SC. Official info at corybooker.com.

The junior senator from New Jersey, who was first elected to the upper chamber of Congress in a special election in 2013, announced his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination on Feb. 1.

A video released with his announcement shows Booker’s appearance at a Martin Luther King Jr. Day rally outside of the Statehouse in Columbia last month.

So far, 12 Democrats are confirmed to be running for president, according to a New York Times tally of announcements. Candidates include Sens. Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders along with celebrity spiritual advisor Marianne Williamson, all of whom have visited the Lowcountry this year.

South Carolina is one of the earliest states to vote in presidential primaries. It’s also a state where African-Americans made up 60 percent of the Democratic primary electorate in 2016, making it an important testing ground for a candidate’s popularity with a diverse set of voters.

Former Vice President Joe Biden and former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke, who narrowly lost to Ted Cruz for a seat in the U.S. Senate last year, have to announce whether they’ll run against President Donald Trump, who is likely to remain the Republican nominee barring any Russia/campaign-related bombshells.

Booker can already count on the support of former President Jimmy Carter, who the senator visited in Georgia last month. [location-1]