U.S. Sen. Tim Scott announced on Sunday that he was suspending his campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
Scott, 58, the only Black member of the Republican Party in the Senate, made his announcement to fellow South Carolinian and former Rep. Trey Gowdy on his Fox News program, “Sunday Night in America,” The New York Times reported.
“I think the voters who are the most remarkable people on the planet have been really clear that they’re telling me, ‘Not now, Tim,’” Scott said. “I don’t think they’re saying, Trey, ‘No.’ I do think they’re saying, ‘Not now.’”
Scott spoke about his success in vaulting from poverty to becoming a senator in the South, but his “happy warrior” message apparently did not resonate with Republican voters, according to The Washington Post.
Scott told Gowdy, his longtime friend, that he would not endorse another candidate in the GOP primary race, the Times reported.
“The best way for me to be helpful is to not weigh in,” Scott said.
Scott, who joined the presidential race in May, also dismissed the idea of becoming a vice presidential candidate.
“Being vice president has never been on my to-do list,” he said.
Scott got off to a strong start after announcing his candidacy on May 22, receiving a sizable amount of campaign contributions, the Post reported.
Armed with $22 million, Scott spent millions of dollars on television ads touting his candidacy, the Times reported.
But his polling slipped after the first debate with his fellow Republican presidential hopefuls and he never produced a breakout moment to stand apart from the other candidates, according to the newspaper.
Scott was one of five candidates who appeared in last week’s Republican debate in Miami, along with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
Former President Donald Trump, acknowledged to be the front-runner on the Republican side, has skipped all three debates.
While Scott’s announcement Sunday night was a surprise, the reality of the campaign signaled that the numbers were working against him.
He would have needed to hit a new threshold of 80,000 donors and a higher percentage in public opinion polls to qualify for next month’s debate, the Times reported.
December’s fourth debate among candidates will be sponsored by the Republican National Committee.
