Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) filed paperwork to run for president in 2024 ahead of a potential announcement, according to records published by a federal agency on Friday.
Scott filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), essentially guaranteeing that he is preparing to enter the Republican primary for 2024. A principal political committee, “Tim Scott for America” and several other political committees were named in Scott’s filing.
It’s not officially clear when or if Scott will launch his 2024 campaign, but reports have indicated that an announcement will come Monday, May 22. An unnamed official with Scott’s campaign told The Hill that he will also roll out a $6 million advertising campaign in the meantime.
“This campaign is built to win and has the resources and messenger to deliver a Republican nomination and ultimately the White House,” an individual described as a “senior Scott official” told The Hill.
Scott, who last month formed an exploratory committee allowing him to raise and spend money while weighing a White House campaign, is scheduled to make an announcement on Monday in his hometown of North Charleston regarding his decision on a presidential bid, his campaign also told The Associated Press.
Scott has been traveling to early voting states including Iowa, which holds the leadoff caucuses, and New Hampshire, host of the first-in-the-nation primary. He’s also campaigning in his home state, which holds the first Southern primary next year.
Several major Republican 2024 challengers have already launched formal White House bids, including former President Donald Trump, businessman Vivek Ramawamy, former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, and radio host Larry Elder. There have been indications that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will enter the race, but none have so far made formal announcements.
But polls have shown that Trump, who is facing multiple investigations as well as criminal charges in Manhattan, is by far the No. 1 GOP candidate. A recent RealClearPolitics aggregate of polls shows that 56 percent support Trump, 19 percent support DeSantis, about 6 percent back Pence, 4 percent back Haley, 3.5 percent back Ramaswamy, 2 percent back Scott, and 1.3 percent support Elder.
While Scott is trailing in the polls so far, he does have one major advantage. He would start a bid with more campaign dollars than any of his 2024 rivals, or roughly $22 million that he can automatically convert from his U.S. Senate campaign account to a presidential campaign, reported the AP. The figure is the most any candidate in history has had when beginning a campaign for president, according to the Federal Election Commission,
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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