by Mary Lou Masters
South Carolina senator and 2024 candidate Tim Scott racked up nearly 150 endorsements from current and former elected officials in his home state Monday.
Scott entered the Republican primary in late May, and already gained the backing of South Dakota’s GOP Senate Majority Whip John Thune and Sen. Mike Rounds. The South Carolina senator received 148 endorsements, including several members of the state legislature’s leadership, the mayor of South Carolina’s capital, Columbia, and a former U.S. congressman, the Daily Caller News Foundation confirmed.
“I’m honored to receive the endorsements of former colleagues and friends. The support across our state has been incredible and the energy has been electric,” Scott said in a statement. “I’m prepared to take our conservative message all across South Carolina and this country. We will restore faith in America and faith in each other.”
State Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey and State House Chief Majority Whip Brandon Newton threw their support behind Scott, as well as the former Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell and former South Carolina Rep. Henry Brown. The mayor of Columbia Daniel Rickenmann and several other mayors, as well as a long list of city council members and school board representatives also endorsed the senator for president.
“South Carolina conservative leaders are flocking to Tim Scott’s campaign for President because they’ve seen his affirmational life story up close,” Massey said in a statement. “Tim Scott is the real deal. I know he is the authentic conservative leader we need in the White House right now.”
Scott has built his presidential platform on optimism and American values, while focusing on issues like the border crisis, national security, parental rights in education and the economy. The senator, who raked in $2 million in his first 24 hours as a candidate, persistently argues that he’s “living proof” America is not a racist nation, and rather is a land of opportunity.
“Tim Scott has spent a career focusing on people back home and supporting local government to solve real problems,” Rickenmann said in a statement. “I’m proud to join so many other local leaders and mayors from the Palmetto State endorsing Tim Scott’s campaign for President. His work to develop Opportunity Zones across the country is a great showcase of his passion to give everyone a shot at the American Dream.”
Scott is running against his colleague and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who has received the backing of Rep. Ralph Norman, Myrtle Beach Mayor Brenda Bethune and former South Carolina GOP Chairman Katon Dawson.
The Real Clear Politics (RCP) average for a 2024 national Republican primary, based on polls conducted between April 21 and May 18, indicates that Haley and Scott have 3.8% and 2.6% support, respectively.
“I am honored to endorse Senator Tim Scott for president,” Newton said in a statement. “His strong conservative message of hope and opportunity resonates with young voters. His energetic campaign has been building early momentum here in SC. I am excited to be on his leadership team.”
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Mary Lou Masters is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Tim Scott” by Tim Scott.
