Tim Scott has decided to end his aspirations to be the Republican candidate in the 2024 presidential elections. In an interview on Fox News, the South Carolina senator announced that he will not run in the Republican Party primaries.
"I think the voters, who are the most remarkable people on the planet, have been really clear in telling me, 'Not now, Tim,'" the former Republican candidate said this Sunday on the Sunday Night in America program.
Tonight, I suspended my campaign for president.
Traveling this country and meeting all of you has been one of the most fantastic experiences of my entire life.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
God Bless the United States of America. pic.twitter.com/yniJWQMW1N
— Tim Scott (@votetimscott) November 13, 2023
At the moment, Scott does not plan to endorse any other candidate, as did other the Republican candidates who withdrew their candidacy for the Republican primaries, such as Larry Elder or Will Hurd. Among his objectives is also not to be vice president in the event that his party recovers the White House in the next presidential elections. "The best way for me to be helpful is to not weigh in. Being vice president has never been on my to-do list," he said in the interview.
As reported by Fox News, several members of his campaign team were unaware of Scott's decision.
Polls placed Scott with practically no chance of winning
The polls predicted a clear defeat for Scott in the Republican primaries: he barely had even a minimal chance of achieving victory. In one of the latest surveys that were released, the senator from South Carolina only obtained 2% support from Republican voters, leaving him 60 points behind Donald Trump, the most supported candidate.
Apart from Trump, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy and Mike Pence - who also withdrew his candidacy for the Republican primaries - achieved a higher percentage of support than Scott.
Another Republican candidate who withdraws
Scott is not the first candidate to abandon his intentions to lead the Republican Party in the upcoming presidential elections. Before him, five other candidates already announced that they were withdrawing from the pre-election race : the Mayor of Miami, Francis Suárez; former Congressman, Will Hurd; host Larry Elder; former Vice President, Mike Pence; and businessman Perry Johnson.
Praise from DeSantis, Haley or Ramaswamy
Several candidates who are still in the pre-election race sent messages of gratitude to Scott for his work and wished him luck for the future. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis praised the senator for his principles:
Tim Scott is a strong conservative with bold ideas about how to get our country back on track. I respect his courage to run this campaign and thank him for his service to America and the U.S. Senate.
I look forward to Tim continuing to be a leader in our party for years to come.
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) November 13, 2023
For his part, businessman, Vivek Ramaswamy, called the senator a "good dude." The former governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley, reflected the importance that Scott has had participating in the Republican primaries:
Tim Scott is a good man of faith and an inspiration to so many.
The Republican primary was made better by his participation in it.
South Carolina is blessed to continue to have him as our senator.
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) November 13, 2023
