Tim Scott Announces 2024 US Presidential Run

Facts

On Friday, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott — the US Senate's only Black Republican — officially entered the 2024 Presidential race, according to a filing with the Federal Election Commission.¹
The filing comes as Scott launched a $6M ad campaign and is expected to formally announce his candidacy in Charleston on Monday before heading to multiple early-voting states, including Iowa and New Hampshire.²
Scott, who set off in February on a listening tour focused on "Faith in America" before launching a presidential exploratory committee in April, has reportedly reserved about $22M for the presidential bid.³
Meanwhile, Scott's team changed his account name with the Federal Election Commission from "Tim Scott Presidential Exploratory Committee" to "Tim Scott for America," according to a senior campaign official.⁴
Scott is the most influential elected Black conservative in the US; however, only about 2% of Republicans may vote for him in the primary, according to polling averages.⁵
The Senator joins a growing GOP list of candidates to join the race, including former Pres. Donald Trump, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and talk radio host Larry Elder.⁶

Narrative A, as provided by Washington Post. While Tim Scott has an uphill battle to secure the GOP nomination in 2024, he is a rarity in a country where politics are sharply divided along racial lines. Yet, as the 57-year-old Senator aligns with mainstream GOP positions on many issues — such as reducing government spending and restricting abortion — and has been a go-to Republican voice on crucial issues, he may become the first Black person to win the Republican presidential nomination.
Narrative B, as provided by New York Times. Tim Scott's campaign is doomed from the start as Donald Trump will almost certainly win the Republican nomination for president for a third time. Moreover, with only a few Black supporters in a country where some 92% of Black voters backed Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election, Scott's chances may be stronger on paper as his national name recognition remains low. Irrespective of his political views, Scott is an odd man out.