The 2024 Republican Presidential Campaign for South Carolina Senator Tim Scott has recently faced its first major hurdle.
On Tuesday, June 15th, the super PAC supporting the Senator’s presidential bid announced they were withdrawing from the campaign. While the official reason for their decision is still unclear, analysts suggest their discontinuation of their ad campaign is a sign that support for Scott is decreasing.
Scott, the only Black Republican in the U.S. Senate, entered the 2024 presidential race in early April of 2021. At the time, the South Carolina Senator saw a surge of support from his Republican constituents and beyond. His campaign focused on uplifting both working-class American households and small businesses with a platform of “an expanded social safety net and conservative policies to make the US- wealthy and competitive in the world stage.”
Prior to this, Scott received national attention for his speech during President Biden’s joint address to Congress in early April. His speech was praised by both sides of the aisle for its message of bipartisanship and emphasized the need for racial unity.
The announcement from the super PAC supporting Scott’s bid comes after months of disappointing reports from the polls. Early estimations of his chances currently range from low to none at this point in the race.
The Scott campaign has yet to comment on the announcement of the PAC, however, his team has made it clear they remain “resolute and committed to 2021’s ultimate goals,” and is determined to finish 2021 with a unified Republican party. With a field of potential candidates still in flux, it remains to be seen whether the Senator will stay the course to secure his party’s nomination.
It is yet another challenge for the increasingly divided, fractured Republican party as they attempt to put forward a candidate that will put forth a thematic, but competitive campaign in the face of growing Democratic party power.