MANCHESTER, N.H. – Sen. Tim Scott says potentially serving as Donald Trump’s running mate in November if the former president wins the 2024 Republican nomination is “not on my mind.”
But the GOP lawmaker from South Carolina isn’t ruling out another White House run — or another Senate re-election campaign — in 2028.
Although his presidential campaign failed to ignite, Scott remains popular with Republican primary voters, and his endorsement had been heavily coveted by the remaining GOP candidates.
Scott traveled to New Hampshire Friday to publicly back Trump, who is the frontrunner in the Republican race as he makes his third straight White House run.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) speaks as Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump looks on during a campaign rally at the Grappone Conference Center Jan. 19, 2024, in Concord, N.H. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The senator returned to New Hampshire Monday and Tuesday to campaign on behalf of Trump, who won the primary by 11 points over former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, his last remaining major rival for the nomination.
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The GOP nomination race now heads to Haley and Scott’s home state, which on Feb. 24 holds the next major primary on the Republican calendar.
“I look forward to spending a lot of time at home. A lot of time campaigning throughout the great Palmetto State. A lot of time talking about why we should have four more years of Donald Trump,” Scott said in a Fox News Digital interview Tuesday.
“In my opinion, the faster we coalesce around Donald Trump, the better the country will be.”
Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump, right, listens as GOP Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina speaks at a primary election night party in Nashua, N.H., Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
The senator’s endorsement and teaming up with Trump has sparked further speculation Scott could potentially serve as the former president’s running mate.
But Scott insisted it’s “still not on my mind.”
“The only thing on my mind is making sure President Trump is our next president. Getting inflation back down. Getting gas prices back down. Reducing the cost of food and increasing the level of enthusiasm and the level of law and order in our country,” he added.
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Scott downplayed running-mate talk as he dropped out of the race two months ago.
But a source in the senator’s political orbit told Fox News Saturday that Scott hasn’t ruled out serving as Trump’s vice presidential nominee if Trump locks up the nomination in the weeks ahead.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Scott remains in the conversation for running mate,” the source added.
In his Fox News Digital interview, Scott didn’t rule out another run for the White House.
“You know, ‘28’s not that far away. We’ll see what happens by making sure that we’re successful in ‘24,” he said.
When he convincingly won re-election in 2022, Scott said it would be his last Senate campaign.
But Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, told Fox News Tuesday that “every day I hear from a lot of South Carolinians asking me to reconsider and run again. And, so, you have to listen to your voters moving forward. We’ll see what happens.”
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