Rep. Jeff Duncan, a Republican from the crucial early primary state of South Carolina, will host a round table later this month at the Capitol Hill Club with Carly Fiorina — the only woman out of the 16-candidate Republican presidential primary field.  

While Capitol Hill endorsements are coveted among the crowded GOP field, Duncan’s office said the event is not an endorsement of Fiorina — the former Hewlett Packard CEO. Rather, it’s an opportunity for the Republican Conference to get to know one of the candidates in the presidential field.  

“Being a congressman from an important part of South Carolina — an early primary state — he’s had an opportunity to get to know a lot of them, so we’ve been trying to have some events … with a general theme of helping other people get to know these candidates as well,” Allen Klump, a spokesman for Duncan’s campaign, said.  

The Sept. 30 event is not a fundraiser. Instead, it’s a round table discussion being held exclusively for members of Congress and their chiefs of staff.  

“It’s not any kind of endorsement, but just an opportunity for members to get to know Carly,” Allen said.  

Fiorina has gotten more attention in the last month after strong performance in the lower-tier candidates’ debate and after her campaign was attacked by GOP front-runner Donald Trump for her appearance. She advanced to primetime for Wednesday night’s much-anticipated CNN debate in California.  

Duncan, a two-term Republican from Greenville has hosted other GOP primary contenders at events, including one in his district in August. At Duncan’s fifth annual Faith & Freedom BBQ , a number of Republican primary hopefuls were in attendance, including Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and Sen. Ted Cruz.  

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