The field from South Carolina is starting to get crowded.
Assuming former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley announces her campaign on Wednesday, adding Sen. Tim Scott to the mix could create the second 2024 presidential candidate hailing from the Palmetto State.
Axios had a scoop a few days ago noting that Scott has been busy setting up a Super PAC and continues to organize the earmarks of a presidential campaign with some big-name hires:
South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) has hired former Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner and longtime Republican operative Rob Collins to co-chair a super PAC (Opportunity Matters Fund Action) supporting the senator’s political efforts.
Why it matters: Scott’s decision to tap two politically-savvy Republicans — a former senator who chaired the National Republican Senatorial Committee and a former executive director of the NRSC — is a sign that he’s moving closer to launching a 2024 presidential campaign.
Scott is also planning to visit Iowa the following week to discuss the importance of faith in America.
Well, if he’s visiting Iowa, case closed.
In all seriousness, politicians visit Iowa when they’re getting ready to run for president or are at least strongly considering a run, it’s a clear sign Scott has bigger future plans.
Scott has an impressive resume and a compelling life story to boot. In a field that’s shaping up to feature Trump as a former president, DeSantis as a sitting governor, and Haley as a former governor, Scott’s time in the U.S. Senate is, well, less impressive. That’s not to take anything away from his accomplishments, it’s more an indictment that Republican primary voters are typically more enthused about state leaders or, in Trump’s case, someone from completely outside the system entirely.
The last Senator to win the GOP presidential nomination was John McCain, someone generally disliked among a lot of conservatives for his “maverick” streak of voting with Democrats. Mitt Romney ran in 2012 on his business background and as the former governor of Massachusetts.
On the other side of the aisle, Democrats tend to glom toward Senators since they believe in a government-focused world of top-down authoritarianism where un-elected federal bureaucrats should be the final arbiter of every state and local issue. Think Al Gore, John Kerry, Barack Obama, and now Joe Biden, each of them built much of their political career as a U.S. Senator. The most recent governor to win the Democratic presidential nomination was Bill Clinton in 1992.
As for a time frame, Scott’s moving along but seems to be in no real hurry at the moment. If Haley announces on Wednesday, as planned, and with Trump already announced, the time frame might start speeding up for any of the potential candidates that are truly inclined to take the plunge.
After all, it’s never too early to start fundraising for what will be a very costly and bruising primary campaign.
According to polls, Tim Scott is hovering around 2% or so, sitting a little behind Nikki Haley at the moment.
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