Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) unexpectedly announced Sunday night that he was suspending his 2024 presidential campaign as polls showed him failing to gain traction in a race increasingly dominated by former President Donald Trump.
“When I return to Iowa, it won’t be as a presidential candidate,” Scott told fellow South Carolina native, former Rep. Trey Gowdy, on Fox News’ “Sunday Night in America.”
“I’m suspending my campaign,” Scott added. “I think the voters, who are the most remarkable people on the planet, have been very clear: They’re telling me, ‘Not now, Tim.'”
Scott announced he was suspending his campaign five days after the third Republican primary debate in Miami, in which he failed to stand out on the five-person stage, and as he faced an uphill battle to qualify for the next debate on Dec. 6 in Tuscaloosa. , Alabama.
Scott’s most memorable debate moment was the first public appearance of his girlfriend, Mindy Noce, after the verbal confrontation concluded.
Scott wasn’t even the most popular South Carolinian in the race, and that distinction fell to former Palmetto State Gov. Nikki Haley.
The 58-year-old had campaigned on an optimistic message about his life story, contradicting liberal tropes of American oppression of its minority populations, but polls indicated little appetite for it among Republican voters.
Sen. Tim Scott suspended his 2024 presidential campaign on Sunday. AFP via Getty Images
A baseline Iowa poll released late last month showed Scott garnering just 7% support, nine percentage points behind Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and a whopping 36 percentage points behind Trump.
However, Scott was expected to continue fighting and try to at least qualify for the fourth debate. The Associated Press reported Sunday night that campaign staff had no prior knowledge that Scott would drop out of school before appearing on FNC airwaves.
“I’m going to respect the voters, I’m going to hang in there and keep working very hard and wait for another chance,” Scott told Gowdy, who seemed surprised by his former colleague’s announcement.
“I’m trying to process this information, and I’m trying to do it on live television, so forgive me,” said Gowdy, who later lamented that “maybe I should ask voters what it says about the Republican Party” that Scott felt didn’t. could remain in the race when the first nomination contest was still two months away.
Scott received just 7% in an Iowa Republican primary poll released last month. AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell
“I think sometimes optimism in the midst of chaos is not seen through the right prism,” the senator suggested.
Notably, Scott said he would not endorse any other candidate in the Republican primary, saying “the best way to help is to not intervene.”
The senator also indicated he would not accept an invitation to take the No. 2 spot on the Republican ticket, telling Gowdy: “I ran for president to be president…being vice president has never been on my to-do list for this campaign. and it is certainly not there anymore.”
In response to Scott’s announcement, DeSantis praised him on social media as a “strong conservative with bold ideas about how to get our country back on track.”
Scott told former Rep. Trey Gowdy on Fox News that he’s going to “respect the voters.” REUTERS
“I respect his bravery in leading this campaign and thank him for his service to America and the United States Senate.”
Scott is the sixth notable Republican candidate to suspend his campaign before votes have been cast, joining former Vice President Mike Pence and four unlikely candidates: Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, former Texas Rep. Will Hurd, TV host radio Larry Elder and businessman Perry. Johnson.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn