Tim Scott suspends 2024 GOP primary bid
Republican presidential candidate Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) has dropped out of the 2024 GOP primary, the latest high-profile exit from the race.
Scott made the announcement on Fox News’ “Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy.” The host himself is a former Republican congressman from South Carolina who wrote a book with Scott.
“I love America more today than I did on May 22, but when I return to Iowa I will not run for president. I’m suspending my campaign,” Scott told Gowdy. “I think the voters, who are the most remarkable people on the planet, have really made it clear to me: Not now, Tim.”
Scott’s campaign sent out a fundraising email just minutes before his announcement, giving donors what it said was “one last chance to give this weekend and help Tim reach his campaign goal.”
Scott launched his candidacy in May 2022, becoming the second South Carolina resident to run for the White House on the Republican side, following former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley. On the campaign trail, he espoused a predominantly positive and optimistic message, drawing on his personal history as someone raised by a single mother and as the only sitting black Republican senator.
The announcement came just days after the third GOP primary debate.
Over the summer, Scott briefly showed some signs of momentum in early state polls as the Florida governor struggled to narrow the gap between himself and former President Trump.
But the South Carolina Republican was unable to capitalize on that momentum during the Republican presidential debates, particularly during the first debate when he remained largely in the background as candidates Vivek Ramaswamy, Mike Pence and Haley clashed.
And although Scott had a campaign coffers of $22 million at the start of the race – money he amassed through fundraising during his time as a senator – his campaign also struggled with a high cash burn.
The Scott campaign announced in October that the senator would go “all-in on Iowa” and move his headquarters to West Des Moines, Iowa, as the campaign increasingly viewed the Hawkeye State as the “make-or-break” state .
“We’ve made the decision that it’s Iowa or bust for us, and I’m excited to be there,” Scott told conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt in late October.
Updated at 10:09 p.m
