Sen. Tim Scott files paperwork to run for president in the 2024 election

Washington Desk | NPR

May 19th, 2023

FILE - President Donald Trump listens as Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., speaks during a meeting on opportunity zones in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, May 18, 2020. Scott has filed paperwork to enter the 2024 Republican presidential race. He'll be testing whether a more optimistic vision of America’s future can resonate with GOP voters who have elevated partisan brawlers in recent years. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Ahead of a “major announcement” in his hometown of North Charleston, S.C., on Monday, Republican Sen. Tim Scott has quietly made his run for president official. In a filing with the Federal Election Commission Friday, Scott filed a Statement of Candidacy as a member of the Republican Party. The office sought? President.

This filing comes after months of speculation about Scott’s political ambitions. He previously announced a presidential exploratory committee in April which allowed him to raise money without the strict scrutiny of the FEC. A little over a month later, he is now poised to make that exploratory committee a conventional campaign.

This filing and the upcoming announcement also come after Scott’s “Faith in America” tour, where he traveled the country — particularly early voting states like Iowa and New Hampshire — sharing his vision for America, leaning heavily into cultural war issues including education.

At a Faith and Freedom event in Iowa, Scott compelled a crowd of conservative Christian voters in the style of an Southern preacher — a job he said his mother wanted him to have.

“If you believe we need a little more A-B-Cs and a little less C-R-T, let me hear you scream!” Scott said. “Hallelujah.”

The comment about CRT, or Critical Race Theory, highlights the lane that Scott will take as a candidate. He is the only Black Republican in the U.S. Senate and has long espoused conservative views while talking frankly about race and his experiences as a Black man in America.

Scott will be the second South Carolina Republican to jump into the race; former Gov. Nikki Haley announced her candidacy in February. South Carolina is an early voting state for both Republicans and Democrats in 2024.