Ahead of his expected launch of a 2024 White House campaign later this month, Republican His. Tim Scott of South Carolina will make return visits in the coming days to the two states that kick off the GOP presidential nominating calendar.
Scott, a rising star in the GOP and the only black Republican in the Senate, is on Saturday in Iowa, the state whose caucuses lead off the GOP agenda. He will head a city council in Waukee, a suburb of Des Moines.
On Monday and Tuesday, the senator will be in New Hampshire, which is holding the first primary and second general contest on the Republican calendar. He will lead a town hall at Saint Anselm College’s New Hampshire Institute of Politics: A must-stop for more than two decades for White House hopefuls from both major political parties. He will also hold meetings in both states with Republican leaders and activists.
A source close to the senator emphasized that there has been a lot of interest ahead of the Iowa and New Hampshire town halls.
WHO’S IN AND WHO’S ON THE LINE: YOUR GUIDE TO THE 2024 GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION RACE
The stops in Iowa and New Hampshire were ahead of what is being considered a “major” 2024 announcement the senator will make on May 22 at Charleston Southern University. The North Charleston, South Carolina, school is Scott’s alma mater, and the announcement is expected to be the senator’s formal declaration of candidacy and the launch of his White House campaign.
2024 CLOCK: SEN. TIM SCOTT DEEPS A “MAJOR” ANNOUNCEMENT ON MAY 22
Saying “it’s time to take the final step,” he teased the announcement at a campaign event last weekend. “Tell your friends. Attend… We’re going to have a big announcement, and you’re going to want to be there.”
Scott kicked off a “Faith in America” listening tour in February. This tour has already taken the senator twice in recent months to Iowa and once to New Hampshire. And Scott has also held campaign-style events in his home state of South Carolina, which is holding its third contest in the GOP primary and caucus lineup.
Last month, Scott launched a presidential exploratory committee. Saying he will “Never back down in defense of the conservative values that make America great,” Scott announced to his exploratory committee in a video that was first reported by Fox News.
Scott has been offering voters what he calls an “upbeat, positive message anchored in conservatism” while touting that modest upbringing, noting that he “was raised by a single mother in poverty.”
SCOTT, PENCE HIGHLIGHT DIFFERENCES WITH TRUMP AS THEY CLOSE 2024 BID LAUNCH
The senator emphasized that “individual responsibility leads to the American dream. I’ve been on both sides of the tracks and I’m so thankful that my story, which is a rare story around the world, isn’t so rare in America. Made in America is a story of those who start in one place and end up in a much better place.”
Asked by Fox News last month during a stop in Iowa about the reception he was getting from voters, Scott said “so far, so good. I’m excited about where we’re at. I’m excited about the response to the message.”
Scott, who won re-election last November for what he has said will be his final six-year term in the Senate, is expected to court evangelical Christian voters, who play a disproportionate role in US politics. GOP in Iowa and his home state.
He will join a White House GOP field that includes former president Donald Trumpwho announced his third consecutive presidential bid in November and remains the clear favorite in the Republican nomination race.
Scott will also face some serious competition Nikki Haley, the former ambassador to the United Nations and former two-term governor of South Carolina who launched a 2024 presidential campaign two months ago. Haley, who is spending a lot of time on the campaign trail in Iowa and New Hampshire, and Scott share many of the same allies and donors.
Former two-term Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson formally launched a Republican presidential campaign late last month. Other candidates in the race include billionaire businessman, best-selling author and conservative commentator Vivek Ramaswamy, who announced his candidacy in February, Michigan businessman and 2022 gubernatorial candidate Perry Johnson , who launched his campaign in March, and conservative talk radio. Show host and former California gubernatorial candidate Larry Elder, who declared his candidacy last month.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis remains on the sidelines in 2024, but is expected to launch a presidential campaign in the coming weeks. And former Vice President Mike Pence, who has made numerous trips over the past two years to early voting states as he moves toward launching a presidential campaign, recently said he will have a decision in 2024 within weeks. Former two-term New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has said he will decide within the next two weeks whether to launch a second Republican bid for the White House. And Republican Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire is also seriously considering a presidential run.
Scott is known as fierce fundraising and had roughly $22 million in his campaign coffers at the end of March, which could be transferred to a presidential campaign. The fundraising war chest could give Scott an edge over some of his rivals.
Paul Steinhauser is a political reporter based in New Hampshire.
