Sen. Tim Scott Monday launched his 2024 Republican presidential campaign with a message of hope that he hopes will cut through the negativity of the political realm.
The South Carolina conservative enters as a prohibitive underdog in a GOP race dominated for now by former President Donald Trump and his nearest rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
But Scott hopes to parlay his optimistic message and political skills as the only Black GOP senator to make a credible run in the contest to take on President Joe Biden.
He trumpets America as a “colorblind” society that should put bitter racial and partisan divisions behind it.
“I’m living proof that America is the land of opportunity not oppression,” Scott told a cheering crowd in his hometown of North Charleston, S.C. “I chose personal responsibility over resentment. I became the master of my fate.”
Scott, 57, who is not married, did not mention Trump or any other Republican rivals. But he did trash Biden for overspending and failing to secure the southern border, among other failings.
“This administration has replaced a hand up with handouts,” Scott said.
Scott will spend Tuesday with donors in Charleston before a two-day campaign swing to Republican early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire.
He joins a growing field including fellow South Carolina native Nikki Haley, ex-Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
DeSantis is expected to jump into the race in the next few days and ex-Vice President Mike Pence might not be far behind.
Whether any of the Republican candidates have what it takes to give Trump a run for his money remains to be seen. Despite the grumbling about his electability, the MAGA leader appears to have forged majority support among the GOP electorate.
Trump’s mounting legal woes appear to have only rallied Republicans behind him, although his most serious cases are still on the horizon.
