In a surprise withdrawal, Sen. Tim Scott has dropped out of the 2024 presidential race.
Just days after his appearance at the third Republican presidential debate, where he revealed the identity of his mystery girlfriend, Mindy Noce, Scott appeared on Fox News to tell the nation he was pulling out of the race.
The Nov. 12 announcement reportedly left many people on his campaign staff dumbfounded and even appeared to shock “Sunday Night in America” host Trey Gowdy, whose response suggested that he wasn’t in the know either. Gowdy even asked Scott when he was getting back on the campaign trail before Scott dropped the hammer.
After Scott announced his withdrawal, a stunned Gowdy asked, “You’re…you’re suspending your presidential campaign? You have plenty of money. You have the highest approval numbers of any candidate… and you are suspending your presidential campaign?”
“I am indeed suspending the campaign, but I am going to remain as committed to making sure that this country chooses the right person by enjoying the journey of just helping people everywhere throughout South Carolina and throughout our country,” Scott responded. “I think the voters who are the most remarkable people on the planet have been really clear that they’re telling me, ‘Not Now, Tim,'” Scott also stated.
Scott is the fifth Republican to withdraw from the field behind other Black candidates Larry Elder and former Texas congressman Will Hurd, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, and businessman Perry Johnson.
While Scott says he’ll continue to talk to voters in states like Iowa, where he made some solid headway in the polls, he hasn’t yet offered up an endorsement for any other GOP candidate. Elder and Johnson both endorsed Trump at the end of their campaigns. Hurd opted to endorse former South Carolina governor and United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley.
While Gowdy talked up Scott’s performance in the polls and campaign donations, reports show the South Carolina senator wasn’t making much of a dent in his polling numbers or his fundraising efforts compared to former president Donald Trump or Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
According to Politico, the 58-year-old’s campaign was spending more than it was making in donations, reaching nearly $12.4 million in expenditures during the third fundraising quarter while only raising $4.6 million.
He barely reached the criteria to qualify for the third debate, just reaching the 70,000 donor threshold by a hair. Before he announced his dropout, his campaign staff sent a fundraising appeal to his subscribers, titled “One last chance” less than 45 minutes before announcing his campaign suspension.
The polling threshold for the next debate on Dec. 6 in Alabama is 6 percent. In September, a FiveThirtyEight survey showed he received 2 percent of national favorability among voters.
Scott’s optimistic and sunny demeanor attracted some Republicans looking to position him as a workable alternative to Donald Trump.
Could he have a shot at becoming vice president, though? Perhaps, but he has voiced his reservations about assuming the position.
Politico reported that at the beginning of Scott’s campaign, his advisers rejected the notion that he might make a play for vice president, with one adviser stating the suggestion was “insulting.”
When he was asked about the possibility after suspending his campaign, Scott said on Fox, “I’ll be honest with you, I ran for president to be president. I believe I could have taken this country to new heights with great unity on conservative principles.”
“That’s what the Lord put in my heart. I think I was called to run. I was not called to win. But I certainly was called to run. And I’ll say this, that being vice president has never been on my to-do list for this campaign, and it’s certainly not there now,” Scott added.
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