Senator Tim Scott has joined the crowded 2024 Republican presidential race. At an event in his hometown of North Charleston, Scott vowed to turn around “the nation in retreat” and claimed that “Joe Biden and the radical left are attacking every rung of the ladder that helped me climb.”
He also emphasizes that “we are not in decline. We are in a Biden retreat. So all we need to do is turn back.”
The 57-year-old African-American senator from South Carolina, a former insurance salesman who was elected to the chamber in 2013, promises an optimistic vision for America. He is the grandson of a Southern cotton worker and often projects his personal path as the embodiment of the American dream.
He is one of three sitting African-American US senators in the 100-member body. Democrats have two.
Scott has a substantial campaign capital of $22 million at his disposal, the most of any opponent.
For now, however, former president Donald Trump is leading the informal race. The polls give Tim Scott less than 5%.
The first stops on Scott’s tour will be Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states to vote in the Republican primaries in early 2024. In the two states, he has bought $6 million in airtime, the largest single advertising purchase in the 2024 race to date.
The race for the nomination also includes former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and radio host Larry Elder.
Others, such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSandis and former Vice President Mike Pence, are also expected to run.
