Tim Scott picks up first Senate endorsement ahead of White House announcement
David Sivak
Video Embed
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) has committed to backing his fellow Republican colleague Tim Scott (R-SC) as he prepares to launch a run for the White House in 2024.
Rounds has offered effusive praise for the South Carolina senator and on Wednesday made a public endorsement in an interview with the Washington Examiner. He is the first senator to support the nascent campaign of Scott, who is expected to launch his candidacy in his hometown of North Charleston on Monday.
KAMALA HARRIS TAKES HER PLACE AT THE DEBT LIMIT NEGOTIATING TABLE
“I do,” the senator said when asked if he plans on endorsing Scott. “I’ve already told him I would.”
“I think he is the closest to Ronald Reagan that you’re going to see,” Rounds added.
Scott formed an exploratory committee last month and recently hired key staff for his campaign operation. He plans to bring to the 2024 race a message of faith-based optimism, one that contrasts sharply with the mud-slinging already seen between former President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL). Trump announced his third run for the White House in November, while DeSantis is expected to make a June campaign launch.
Scott will enter the race as an underdog. Eleven of Scott’s Senate colleagues have already endorsed Trump, helping build momentum for the former president as he establishes himself as the clear front-runner in the 2024 primary. Scott is polling at 2% among Republican primary voters. Trump, by contrast, stands at 56%, while DeSantis pulls in 20% support, according to the RealClearPolitics average.
Notably, Scott, who has developed strong relationships with his colleagues since joining the upper chamber in 2013, picked up a Senate endorsement before DeSantis. Four House Republicans have endorsed the governor, while dozens have offered Trump their support, including the majority of the Florida delegation.
Rounds has pushed back on the former president’s rhetoric and his claims that the 2020 election was stolen. He signaled Scott’s message of optimism could resonate among a primary electorate that has in the past gravitated to the brawler persona of Trump.
“He’ll bring our country together. He cares deeply about making the right decisions,” Rounds told the Washington Examiner. “I believe he will build a good team. He’s got a business background. He’s got a great personal story, and he understands and he truly cares about people.”
Rounds isn’t the only Republican in the Senate to praise Scott. He’s widely lauded as an effective communicator who, as the only black Republican in the chamber, has brought issues of racial justice and school choice to the fore.
“I think he is the right messenger with the right message,” Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) told the Washington Examiner. “We need a candidate in this race who has solid values that he really does wear on his sleeve.”
“Gosh, I mean, certainly one of my favorite people up here, Mr. Personality,” Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) said of Scott. “He’s a solid conservative, a godly man.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Yet most Republicans stop short of offering an endorsement. Lummis says she’s friendly with DeSantis from their time serving together in the House and noted she voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020. She has no plans to endorse in the 2024 primary but will campaign for the eventual GOP nominee.
Marshall similarly told the Washington Examiner he would support whoever wins the primary.