(AP) -- CLINTON, S.C. (AP) - Four South Carolina counties suing the state election commission over next year's Republican presidential primary are offering a settlement agreement.
Documents obtained by The Associated Press show the offer sent Friday to state Republican leaders asks for the GOP to put $2.5 million in escrow to cover their costs for the first-in-the-South presidential primary scheduled for Jan. 21.
Last week, Beaufort, Chester, Greenville and Spartanburg counties filed a lawsuit with the state Supreme Court saying they could be left to pay a large part of the tab for the primary.
The counties also questioned the state's authority to run a primary they described as a private event that would get taxpayer funding.
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