Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina has taken a major step towards running for US president and challenging Donald Trump for the party’s nomination in 2024.
Scott, 57, the only black Republican member of the US Senate on Wednesday launched a presidential exploratory committee, a fundraising vehicle that allows him to raise and spend money on a potential run.
He is favoured by many deep-pocketed GOP donors looking for an alternative to the former president, who currently has a commanding lead in public opinion polls of the Republican grassroots. Scott had nearly $22mn on hand in his Senate campaign coffers at the end of last year, making him among the most formidable fundraisers on Capitol Hill.
In a video posted to social media Scott underscored his humble upbringing as the child of a single mother, and his identity as a black Republican.
“All too often, when [Democrats] get called out for their failures, they weaponise race to divide us, to hold on to their power,” Scott said in a video filmed largely at Fort Sumter, a sea fort off the coast of Charleston where the American Civil War started.
“When I fought back against their liberal agenda, they called me a prop, a token, because I disrupt their narrative. I threaten their control,” Scott said in the video. “They know the truth of my life disproves their lies.
“I will never back down in defence of the conservative values that make America exceptional,” he added. “And that is why I am announcing my exploratory committee for president of the United States.”
Scott was expected to appear in Cedar Rapids, in the key early voting state of Iowa, later on Wednesday, before making additional stops in New Hampshire and South Carolina later in the week.
He is one of several high-profile Republicans openly mulling a run for the White House in 2024.
Trump’s standing among grassroots Republicans has only increased in recent weeks, after he was indicted on criminal charges by the district attorney in Manhattan and his rival, Republican governor Ron DeSantis, stumbled. An average of recent polls compiled by Real Clear Politics shows Trump commands the support of just over 51 per cent of Republican primary voters, compared to nearly 25 per cent who back DeSantis. Fewer than 1 per cent of voters prefer Scott, according to the polling average.
DeSantis has not formally declared he is running against Trump, but is expected to launch a bid after Florida’s state legislative session wraps up later this spring.
So far Nikki Haley, Trump’s UN ambassador and the former governor of South Carolina, is the only major Republican who has formally launched a challenge to Trump, though Asa Hutchinson, the former Republican governor of Arkansas, has also said he will kick off a campaign later this month. Vivek Ramaswamy, the anti-ESG fund manager, has also already entered the race.
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