President Barack Obama will be making his first official visit to South Carolina since his election in 2008.

The president will visit the state this week as part of his attempt to visit all 50 states before leaving office in 2017.

According to the Associated Press, the president will visit the Palmetto State this week when he visits Benedict College in Columbia. President Obama has not visited South Carolina since the contentious 2008 primary campaign against fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton.

The president is visiting the state also as the anniversary of his My Brother’s Keeper initiative for young minority men passes.

The State reports the president will arrive in South Carolina on Friday, March 6. More details will be released by the White House in the coming days but it has been confirmed he will visit the historically black school, Benedict College, as also stated on the school’s website.

Although the president won the primary in the state, he failed to win during both the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, which could be the reason why he has put off visiting until now, according to political scientists Scott Huffmon.

However, top state Democrats are looking at the postive outcome of the president’s long-awaited visit.

“Every African-American kid who grew up in poverty, who grew up with mom and no dad, who grew up with the belief that they’re life was a dead-end, can say, ‘That could be me,’" former state Democratic Party chairman Dick Harpootlian told the State.

The current chairman, Jaime Harrison, sees the president’s visit as a chance to galvanize younger voters as new elections approach. However, Republicans have also taken the opportunity to attack the president.

“Middle class families and small businesses continue to suffer under President Obama’s bad policies. If the President wants to do something more productive than push his liberal agenda on our state, South Carolina has some beautiful golf courses. From blocking construction of the Keystone Pipeline to driving up health care costs to attacking South Carolina manufacturers through the NLRB, it’s clear why this President hasn’t visited South Carolina in seven years,” said South Carolina GOP Chairman Matt Moore.

Despite the political differences, Democrats are happy the president is visiting. Speaking to the State, Rep. Jim Clyburn thanked Benedict College’s president for hosting President Obama.

In return, the South Carolina Democratic Party thanked the congressman on Twitter for helping bring the president.

President Obama’s last two states to visit are Utah and South Dakota.

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