Tim Scott is set to enter the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination on Monday, wading into a battle that has so far been dominated by two conservative favorites: Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis.
Scott, the only Black Republican US senator, is scheduled to make his official campaign announcement in his home town of North Charleston after filing papers for his candidacy last week with the Federal Election Commission. The late morning event is being hosted at Charleston Southern University, Scott’s alma mater and a private school affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.
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Then he will spend Tuesday with donors in Charleston before a two-day campaign swing to Iowa and New Hampshire as he tries to set himself apart from Trump – who won the presidency in 2016 before losing it in 2020 – and DeSantis, Florida’s governor who is widely expected to announce.
Scott is touting a vision of the US with themes harkening back to Ronald Reagan’s presidency, calling for policy based on “personal responsibility”, abortion access restrictions and rigorous enforcement of border security.
Others in the Republican field who have already declared include the former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson and Woke, Inc author Vivek Ramaswamy.
On the Democratic side, Joe Biden has declared his intent to run for a second term as president after defeating Trump in 2020. Self-help author Marianne Williamson and anti-vaccine activist Robert Kennedy Jr have declared campaigns to challenge Biden in the primary.
The Associated Press contributed reporting