In Surprise Move, Tim Scott Exits 2024 Presidential Race

Shocking even the senator's campaign staff
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Nov 12, 2023 11:25 PM CST
Updated Nov 13, 2023 12:00 AM CST
Tim Scott Abruptly Exits 2024 Presidential Race
Republican presidential candidate Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., greets people after a Republican presidential primary debate hosted by NBC News, Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023, at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County in Miami.   (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Republican presidential candidate Tim Scott abruptly announced late Sunday that he was dropping out of the 2024 race, a development that surprised his donors and stunned his campaign staff just two months before the start of voting in Iowa's leadoff GOP caucuses, the AP reports. The South Carolina senator, who entered the race in May with high hopes, made the surprise announcement on Fox News Channel's Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy, one of his closest friends. The news was so unanticipated that one campaign worker told the AP that campaign staff found out Scott was dropping out by watching the show.

"I love America more today than I did on May 22," Scott said Sunday. "But when I go back to Iowa, it will not be as a presidential candidate. I am suspending my campaign. 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 has had trouble gaining traction in the polls, despite millions spent on his behalf by high-profile donors, and it was unclear whether Scott would qualify for the upcoming fourth debate, which will require higher polling numbers and more donors. Scott said he wouldn't immediately be endorsing any of his remaining Republican rivals. "The voters are really smart," Scott said. "The best way for me to be helpful is to not weigh in on who they should endorse."

He also appeared to rule out serving as vice president, saying the No. 2 slot "has never been on my to-do list for this campaign, and it's certainly not there now." Scott's team was so surprised by his exit that just 13 minutes before he announced his departure, his campaign sent out an email soliciting supporters for donations to further Scott's "strong leadership and optimistic, positive vision to lead our country forward." Campaign staffers expressed their extreme irritation to the AP in light of the candidate recently shifting staff and money from New Hampshire to Iowa in an effort to boost his standing in the leadoff caucus. A senior staffer characterized the experience as incredibly frustrating, saying that staff had been working around the clock to accommodate the move, only to completely reverse it.

(More Election 2024 stories.)

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