Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., announced his presidential bid Monday. Despite low polling, he’s already netted some high-profile endorsements, including one from the Senate’s second-ranked Republican.
Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., is set to endorse Scott on Monday, according to a Sunday report from Politico.
NBC News later verified the report that Thune would be endorsing Scott.
Thune, a 20-year incumbent, serves as the Senate’s minority whip. Among Senate Republicans, he’s ranked second only to Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
In other words, Scott is set to receive an endorsement from the likely successor to McConnell.
Plus, Scott has already been endorsed by Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D. If Scott does, in fact, receive the endorsement from Thune, then he will have amassed two endorsements as of Monday, the very day of his campaign announcement.
By comparison, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley announced her bid for president three months ago, and she’s received an endorsement from only one U.S. congressmember: Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C.
In other words, Scott appears to be popular with his colleagues in Congress.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., told DailyMail.com, “Tim Scott is a good man… and the contrast between his character and the character of others is remarkable. Rounds gave an interview with The Washington Examiner, and he said, “I think he is the closest to Ronald Reagan that you’re going to see.
However, Scott is jumping into a field with two high-polling candidates: former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
In April, pollsters from CBS News and YouGov interviewed 2,372 adults residing in the U.S., and they found Trump winning 58 percent of self-identified Republicans in a hypothetical primary.
Meanwhile, DeSantis was winning 22 percent of self-identified Republicans, and Scott was winning a measly 1 percent.
However, an additional 12 percent of self-identified Republicans were considering voting for Scott.
By comparison, less than 7 percent of self-identified Republicans would even consider voting for former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson… and Hutchinson had already declared his candidacy at the time of the poll.
Thune would be endorsing Scott amid doubts about Trump’s ability to win 2024’s general election. The Senate whip has encouraged the GOP to leave Trump in the past.
“It’s clear that running on relitigating the 2020 election is not a winning strategy,” Thune said in November, according to Politico.
Asked about Trump’s 2024 campaign, Thune added at the time, “I’m not endorsing anybody, at this point.”
But now he’s supposedly found someone to endorse.
🚨Just in: South Dakota Relublican Senator John Thune the No. 2 GOP Senator, is officially endorsing Senator Tim Scott for President in 2024. Thune will appear with Scott at his announcement tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/IAB3Sv9HY6
— The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) May 21, 2023
The Horn Editorial team