Tim Scott touts over 140 endorsements from his home state of South Carolina
Eden Villalovas
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Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) announced over 140 major endorsements from current and former elected officials from South Carolina on Monday in the wake of announcing his presidential bid.
“We have over 140 South Carolinians endorsing, and these men behind me represent that growing revolution where people are joining the team because we all know that America can do for anyone what she’s done for all of us,” Scott said.
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Several prominent South Carolina Republicans stood with Scott onstage, including Spartanburg City Council member Rob Rain, Columbia’s Mayor Daniel Rickenmann, state Rep. Bruce Bannister (the chairman of the state House Way and Means Committee), and state Sen. Scott Talley.
Bannister said Scott “shares our traditional conservative values, from closing the skills gap to making sure every child is given the opportunity to be in an educational environment that is suited for them.”
The Greenville County representative praised Scott for being a “commonsense guy,” adding that “common sense lives in the conservative world.” Bannister further said, “The radical liberals are trying to take religion, faith, patriotism out of the national debate. Tim’s never backed down.”
The list of supporters includes many high-profile endorsements from 16 mayors of cities and boroughs across the state. Other leaders backing Scott include state Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, state House Majority Whip Brandon Newton, and former Rep. Henry Brown, who was appointed in 2011 by 2024 presidential hopeful Nikki Haley.
Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and South Carolina governor, has gathered support from several Republicans in the state, including Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), state Sen. Katrina Shealy, and state Reps. Nathan Ballentine, Mike Neese, and Chris Wooten.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Haley’s team for a comment.
Scott used the announcement of his abundance of endorsements to speak on multiple topics that are expected to define the 2024 election. The senator discussed immigration, the southern border, U.S.-China relations, and boosting the economy as part of an effort to “restore hope.”
“And that starts with our free market economy and protecting America,” Scott said. “Means closing our southern border and stopping 70,000 more Americans from losing their lives to fentanyl. It means stopping more than 6 million folks coming across our border illegally.”
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Following in the footsteps of multiple GOP candidates, Scott criticized the Department of Justice in relation to Donald Trump’s indictment prior to the former president’s arraignment in Miami on Tuesday.
“This case is a serious case with serious allegations, but in America, you’re still innocent until proven guilty,” Scott said. “And so what I’m going to focus on is making sure, as president of the United States, that I restore confidence and integrity in the Department of Justice, so every single American can have confidence that they will be treated the same, no matter your color and no matter your partisan affiliation.”