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 go back to Iowa, it will not be as a presidential candidate,” Scott told his fellow South Carolinian, former Rep. Trey Gowdy, on Fox News’ “Sunday Night in America.”
“I am suspending my campaign,” Scott added. “I think the voters, who are the most remarkable people on the planet, have been really 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 Dec. 6 in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
The most memorable moment of Scott’s debate was the first public appearance of his girlfriend, Mindy Noce, after the verbal sparring concluded.
Scott wasn’t even the most popular South Carolinian in the race, with that distinction going to former Palmetto State Gov. Nikki Haley.
The 58-year-old had campaigned on an optimistic message about his life story belying liberal tropes of American oppression of its minority populations, but surveys indicated little appetite for that among Republican voters.
Sen. Tim Scott suspended his 2024 presidential campaign on Sunday. AFP via Getty ImagesA benchmark Iowa poll published late last month showed Scott getting just 7% support, nine percentage points behind Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and a whopping 36 percentage points behind Trump.
However, Scott was widely expected to fight on and try to at least qualify for the fourth debate. The Associated Press reported late Sunday that campaign staffers had no advance knowledge that Scott would drop out before he went on the FNC airwaves.
“I’m gonna respect the voters, and I’m gonna hold on and keep working really hard and look forward to another opportunity,” Scott told Gowdy, who appeared stunned 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 the voters what it says about the Republican Party” that Scott felt he could not remain in the race with two months still to go before the first nominating contest.
Scott received only 7% in an Iowa Republican primary poll released last month. AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell“I do think that sometimes optimism in the midst of chaos isn’t seem through the proper prism,” the senator suggested.
Notably, Scott said he would not endorse another candidate in the Republican primary contest, saying that “the best way for me to be helpful is to not weigh in.”
The senator also indicated he would not accept an invitation to assume 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’s certainly not there now.”
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 is going to “respect the voters.” REUTERS“I respect his courage to run this campaign and thank him for his service to America and the U.S. Senate.”
Scott is the sixth notable Republican candidate to suspend his campaign before any ballots have been cast, joining former Vice President Mike Pence and four longshots: Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, former Texas Rep. Will Hurd, radio talk show host Larry Elder, and businessman Perry Johnson.
