Tim Scott Is Well Known In DC And In Right-Wing Donor Circles... So Why Not Run For President?

They’re both Republican presidential wannabes but don’t mix up Rick Scott, a fascist career criminal from Florida, and Tim Scott, a conservative Black, closet case from South Carolina. They’re very different. Rick ripped off Medicare and is super-rich. Tim was born into a working-class family and sold himself to corporate interests as soon as he could. Rick is best known for wanting to “sunset” Social Security and Medicare. Tim is best known for being the first Black Republican elected to any office in South Carolina— Charleston County Council— since the late 1800s, the first African-American senator to be elected from the Old Confederacy since Reconstruction, the first Black Republican elected to Congress from South Carolina in 114 years, the first African-American senator from South Carolina ever and the first Black Republican senator since Edward Brooke, a liberal, was defeated for reelection in 1978. Tim served in the South Carolina state House, where he made his bones as a vehemently anti-union politician, and was elected to Congress after a single term when Republican Henry Brown suddenly retired. In Congress he continued polishing his reputation as an anti-union fanatic. He served a term and a half before being appointed to the Senate by Gov. Nikki Haley.

For whatever reasons, Tim Scott is pretty popular in South Carolina. He outpolled Trump in 2016— 1,241,609 (60.6%) to 1,155,389 (54.9%). And now he’d like to do it again— nationwide. But outside of South Carolina, voters don’t know who he is or what he’s ever done. He virtually never been really vetted and he consistently polls at or near the very bottom of the Republican Party presidential contenders.

And even likely Republican Party primary voters admit that don’t really know much about him. Still, at least they say they don’t have a negative opinion of him-- unlike Pence, Ted Cruz, Trump and Mike Pompeo.

This morning, the Wall Street Journal’s Eliza Collins reported on Tim’s preparations for a long-shot presidential run. She wrote that he’s “testing a message with GOP voters in key early states focused on unity and optimism as some Republicans say it is time to move on from the Trump era… Jennifer DeCasper, a Scott senior adviser, said he was ‘excited to share his vision of hope and opportunity and hear the American people’s response.’ What isn’t clear yet, some people close to Scott acknowledge, is whether the GOP base that enthusiastically embraced Trump is interested in that message… Previously he told the Wall Street Journal his agenda is focused on lifting people out of distressed communities. Scott has pushed for education policies that would allow parents more flexibility in where they send their children to school using public-school funds. Opponents say such programs can hurt public schools by taking funding away. He also frequently touts his opportunity-zone initiative passed as part of the 2017 GOP tax overhaul. It is designed to encourage investment in low-income communities by creating incentives in specific areas for private investment with relatively few restrictions.” [This is generally in line with his extreme anti-union stands.]

Acknowledging that his voting record is about as far right as you can go without being a psycho like Rick Scott, she wrote that Tim Scott “has sought to position himself as a key GOP voice on some of the toughest issues facing America, whether it is police violence or creating more economic opportunities for minorities. Still, he is a relatively unknown quantity with average voters and in addition to competing with Trump will be challenged by several other candidates also seeking to take over the next generation of leadership.

He is scheduled to speak Thursday in his home state at a county GOP dinner celebrating Black History Month— one day after a fellow South Carolina Republican, former Gov. Nikki Haley, announces her own bid— and later this month in Iowa. Iowa is the first state in the Republican nominating process and South Carolina is the third. The people familiar said he would be traveling extensively in the coming months.

…The people close to Scott said the challenge is getting his name identification up in a race that is expected to include several prominent Republicans, along with Trump and Haley. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is expected to join the nomination race after his state’s legislative session wraps in May, is first or second, alongside Trump, in many polls of the potential GOP field.

…Scott has been discussed as a potential presidential candidate for several years. He was the 2021 Republican chosen to respond to President Biden’s address to Congress and has proved to be a strong fundraiser. He pulled in over $51 million during his last term. Scott has also built goodwill within the party in 2022, when he campaigned for other candidates and donated money to their campaigns.

“He truly believes that God is great and America is great and we are provided with incredible opportunities. So I think a Ronald Reagan ‘Morning in America’ hopeful America vision is one that Tim has, lives and breathes and is really needed in our country,” and Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), who is the GOP Senate conference chair.

…Both Scott and Haley will be under pressure to win their home state in the primary process. However, Trump has already sewn up significant support, including from the state’s GOP governor, Sen. Lindsey Graham and several House members.

“South Carolina wants Donald J. Trump back in the White House,” said GOP Rep. Russell Fry at Mr. Trump’s kickoff event in the state last month. Fry easily unseated former Rep. Tom Rice, a Republican who voted to impeach Trump, in the conservative coastal district where voters still adore the former president.

Scott was the key Republican lawmaker involved in failed policing-overhaul negotiations in 2021, the Wall Street Journal first reported. Scott, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), and former Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), who is now the mayor of Los Angeles, were unable to resolve deep differences over how police officers should be prosecuted and held liable, including whether to change or eliminate a legal doctrine known as qualified immunity that shields officers from lawsuits.

…Booker has said he and Scott have been in recent conversations to see if there is a path forward. Scott has said there is the possibility for legislation to come but has been critical of what Democrats have previously put forward. Lawmakers in both parties are skeptical any compromise legislation could move through a divided Congress.