Tim Scott.Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty
South Carolina Sen.Tim Scottis ending his presidential campaign, telling Fox News host Trey Gowdy in a Sunday interview, “I love America more today than I did on May 22. But when I go back to Iowa, it will not be as a presidential candidate. I am suspending my campaign."
The announcement was reportedly a surprise to even some of Scott’s own aides, withCNNreporting that some of those close to him weren’t aware he would be suspending the campaign.
Scott, 57,announced his presidential campaign in May, saying, “Our party and our nation are standing at a time for choosing: Victimhood or victory.”
Scott propelled into the national spotlight in 2021, when he delivered theofficial GOP rebuttalto PresidentJoe Biden’s first address to a joint session of Congress.
As a presidential candidate he failed to break through the crowded GOP field, which has thinned in recent weeks with thesuspensionof former Vice PresidentMike Pence’s campaign. At an event held in Las Vegas, Pence said, “This is not my time," and announced he would be leaving the race in October.
In addition to Pence, Scott also faced competition for the Republican nomination from tech entrepreneurVivek Ramaswamy, former South Carolina Gov.Nikki Haley, Florida Gov.Ron DeSantis, and of course Donald Trump, who is leading in the polls.
While some rumors have suggested Scott could be among Trump’s picks for vice president, the senator told Fox News he has no intention of accepting a vice presidential nomination.
“I ran for president to be president,” he told the network on Sunday. “I think I was called to run. I was not called to win, but I certainly was called to run. … Being vice president has never been on my to-do list for this campaign, and it’s certainly not there now.”
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Prior to joining the Senate, Scott served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives. He’s also served one term in the South Carolina state House of Representatives and 14 years on the Charleston City Council.
As a senator, Scott took office in 2013 and remains the lone Black Republican in the Senate; he, along with Democratic Sens.Cory BookerandRaphael Warnock, are the only sitting Black senators.
source: people.com
