Staff Reports
Although Donald Trump is the most prominent candidate yet to officially declare his intention to run for president in 2024, other prominent individuals are expected to join him soon. One of these is former South Carolina governor and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley. She's expected to officially announce later this month. Another candidate who may be getting closer to making a run is Sen. Tim Scott of SC.
There have been rumors about Scott's possible announcement for some time now. On Wednesday, Paul Steinhauser of Fox News reported that Scott was planning on launching a "listening tour." Similar to what South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley announced earlier this month, the tour will begin later this month.
As Steinhauser explained about the tour:
Scott's visit to Iowa, which is expected to be his first major event as a potential presidential candidate, will also be the focus of his digital ads. These ads are being paid for by his Senate re-election committee.
The tour, which was first reported by Fox News, will begin later this month with a speech in his home state of South Carolina. It will also include stops in Iowa, which holds the first primary election in the Republican Party.
Scott, who is one of the top fundraisers for the Republican Party in South Carolina, will be in Iowa on February 22 to attend the Polk County Republicans' Lincoln dinner. According to Fox News, he will deliver a speech that day, where he will talk about the importance of faith.
Paul Steinhauser of Fox News talked about the various ways in which the senator has been suggesting his possible presidential run.
Although Scott has repeatedly refused to answer questions about his potential presidential run in 2024, he made a possible announcement during his victory celebration in November. He talked about how his grandfather voted for him in 2012 and Barack Obama, the first African-American president of the United States.
Scott stated that he wished his grandfather would have lived longer to see another African-American elected as the leader of the country. He then said that he would like to see a Republican become the next president.
Scott made multiple appearances in Iowa last year to raise money for the Republican Party and for the upcoming midterm elections. He also visited New Hampshire multiple times in the past couple of years.
After winning his re-election in November, Scott received 62.95 percent of his vote, defeating Krystle Matthews, a Democrat. Although the race was heavily favored for Scott, it was not helped by Matthews' controversial comments made in September. In the interview, she referred to white people as "sh*t" and said that they should be treated like children.
Regardless of what Scott decides to do in 2024, his current term will be his last. In 2012, he was appointed by South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley to replace Jim DeMint. DeMint was leaving his position to become the head of the Heritage Foundation.
In 2014, Scott received 61 percent of the vote in a special election. He was re-elected for a full term in 2016.
During his re-election campaign, Scott was asked about his potential presidential run and if he would be interested in becoming Donald Trump's running mate. He said that he would be "very happy" to be the president's running mate.
In an interview, Scott said that he believes that everyone in the country wants to be on Donald Trump's bandwagon. He also stated that the president has the power to determine the future of the Republican Party.
A recent tweet from Morning Consult, which was released on January 31, showed that Scott received around 1 percent of the voters, while 3 percent went to Governor Nikki Haley. No other candidate other than Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, who is considering a run, received double digits.
Tracking the 2024 Republican Primary
Donald Trump: 48%
Ron DeSantis: 31%
Mike Pence: 8%
Nikki Haley: 3%
Liz Cheney: 3%
Ted Cruz: 2%
Greg Abbott: 1%
Kristi Noem: 1%
Mike Pompeo: 1%
Glenn Youngkin: 1%
Tim Scott: 1%
Someone Else: 1%https://t.co/4CBfh5gVos pic.twitter.com/gb3aTGJnbx— Morning Consult (@MorningConsult) February 3, 2023
The preceding is a summary of an article that originally appeared on TOWNHALL.
