CNN
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Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina on Sunday teased a “major announcement” on May 22, signaling he will formally enter the 2024 GOP presidential primary after launching an exploratory committee earlier this month.
“Please tell your friends. Be in attendance,” Scott said at an event in Charleston, South Carolina. “We’re going to have a major announcement, and you’re going to want to be there.”
Scott – the only Black Republican in the Senate – has been testing the waters for months. Since setting off on a listening tour in February focused on “Faith in America,” he’s made frequent visits to Iowa.
In announcing his exploratory committee, Scott emphasized his evangelical faith, his race and his experience growing up as the son of a single mother. He defined his personal ethos as one of “individual responsibility” and his approach to politics guided by the belief that the US is “the land of opportunity and not the land of oppression.”
“There’s this new concept being spread by the far left and it’s like a drug of victimhood and the narcotic of despair. That somehow, some way, we as Americans are all victims. I grew up understanding the power of individual responsibility and the importance of taking responsibility for how your life turns out,” Scott said on April 12.
The South Carolina Republican expanded on that message Sunday, stating, “I believe there’s nothing wrong with the American people. We just need a new American government to unleash the American spirit.”
“I believe this so thoroughly that it is time to take the Faith in America tour not just on the road, not just to an exploratory committee,” he added.
Scott’s national profile grew considerably after he delivered the GOP response to President Joe Biden’s address to a joint session of Congress in 2021, which gave him a prominent platform from which to speak to the country and counter Biden’s message.
Before joining the Senate, Scott served one term in the US House. He also served in the South Carolina state House and on the Charleston County Council.
This story has been updated with additional information.
