Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) is readying a major advertising buy following his announcement he is seeking the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
Scott will buy $5.5 million in television ads to run statewide in Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two GOP nominating contests, through the party’s first presidential debate.
TIM SCOTT PICKS UP FIRST SENATE ENDORSEMENT AHEAD OF WHITE HOUSE ENDORSEMENT
The South Carolina senator will augment his television and radio spots in the early states with a seven-figure digital ad campaign over the same time period, his nascent campaign said.
Scott will enter the race Monday with $22 million in cash on hand, according to his political operation, after raising $42 million for Republican candidates over the past two years.
Political operatives close to Scott are touting this ad buy as costing more money than some candidates will raise during the 2024 election cycle.
Scott, who set up an exploratory committee in April, will take the next step toward a presidential candidacy on Monday in North Charleston.
The junior senator from South Carolina is the only black Republican serving in the upper chamber, to which he was first elected in 2014 after being appointed as an interim replacement for GOP Sen. Jim DeMint. Scott was elected to two full terms in 2016 and 2022. The governor who first elevated Scott to the Senate following DeMint’s resignation, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, is already an announced candidate for the GOP White House nomination.
Other candidates include former President Donald Trump, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and former Arkansas GOP Gov. Asa Hutchinson. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is expected to enter the race as early as next week.
Trump is the front-runner, with DeSantis the only other contender to regularly register double-digit support in national and key state polls. The South Carolinian currently pulls 2% in the RealClearPolitics national average. Scott’s camp nevertheless projects optimism he can go the distance.
"This campaign is built to win and has the resources and messenger to deliver a Republican nomination and ultimately the White House,” a senior Scott official said.
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After Scott’s Monday declaration, he will travel to Iowa on Wednesday and New Hampshire on Thursday. The following week he will join Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) at her Roast and Ride event.
Scott’s home state of South Carolina will also host an early GOP nominating contest. Its primary has frequently been decisive in competitive races for the Republican presidential nomination. The Democratic primary there similarly set President Joe Biden on a path to the White House in 2020, prompting it to be moved up earlier in the party’s calendar next year.