On Sunday, November 12, U.S. Senator Tim Scott announced the suspension of his campaign for the Republican nomination to the 2024 presidential election.
Scott unexpectedly announced his dropping out during a Fox News interview with his ally Trey Gowdy. He stated live, “I think the voters, who are the most remarkable people on the planet, have been really clear that they’re telling me, ‘Not now, Tim.'”
The announcement visibly surprised Gowdy, and reportedly many members of Scott’s campaign staff found out about his dropping out through the broadcast as it happened. On October 30, less than two weeks before announcing his dropping out, Scott affirmed that he would remain in the race until at earliest January, stating in an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt, “it’s Iowa or bust” for his campaign.
Following his announcement, Scott declined to endorse any Republican candidates, though he may decide to as the January 15 Iowa caucuses draw nearer. He has stated he that trusts his supporters to research and vote accordingly.
Scott’s campaign was announced on May 22 during an event held at Charleston Southern University. During his campaign, he ran on increasing public safety, increasing the military budget, further securing the Mexican border, removing discussions of race, sexuality, and gender identity from public schools, and supporting a 15-week federal abortion ban.
As Senator, Scott has introduced legislation into Congress such as the PROTECT Kids Act, which, if passed, would mandate that public elementary and middle schools refuse to alter preferred name, pronouns, or sex-based accommodation of students without parental consent. In a statement to Fox News Digital regarding the bill, Scott stated, “My common sense bill sends a clear message that parental rights must be a top priority for student safety and success.”
Following the Southern Poverty Law Center’s classification of Moms for Liberty as a hate group in June, in an interview with the conservative news website The Daily Signal, Scott defended the group, characterizing them as “moms who want the focus of education to be ABCs and not CRT [critical race theory].” In the past, Moms for Liberty have advocated for book bans, spread hate against transgender people, and been responsible for targeted harassment, a victim of which is Jennifer Jenkins.
Scott was the second Republican from South Carolina to announce a presidential campaign, following former governor Nikki Haley’s campaign announcement on February 14.
According to FiveThirtyEight, Scott polled at 2.2% before his dropping out, with his campaign peaking at 3.9% on June 19, placing him firmly behind Nikki Haley, Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, and Vivek Ramaswamy. His relative unpopularity contrasts with the millions of dollars his campaign was donated by billionaires such as Stanley Druckenmiller, Nelson Peltz, and Jeff Yass.
Despite the media coverage of the Republican debates and the campaigns of those participating in them, Donald Trump remains as by far the most popular Republican candidate for the presidential election. With the dropping out of Tim Scott, it is appearing ever more likely that the 2024 presidential election will be a rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
