“Tim Scott declares presidential candidacy as first black Republican contender”

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CORRECT the sixth paragraph: Trump is 54 points ahead of Scott and not 34, as was written in error. Here the corrected version

US Senator Tim Scott is running to become the first black Republican president, according to documents filed Friday with the Federal Election Commission.

Scott, 57, who has been expected to be in the White House race since launching an exploratory committee in April, plans to hold the official launch of his candidacy in his hometown of North Charleston, South Carolina, on Monday.

The lawmaker spent the past few months visiting states across the country considered crucial to gaining early momentum in the race for the Republican Party nomination, stressing his Christian faith and the conservative values ​​he learned growing up in a poor single-parent home.

He has also highlighted his perspective as the only black Republican in the US Senate.

“American families are starving for hope. We need to have faith. Faith in God, faith in each other and faith in America,” he said Thursday on Twitter.

Scott jumps into the fray hoping to get closer to frontrunner Donald Trump, but he faces a daunting task with recent polls showing his support a mere around 2% on average, some 54 points behind the former president (2017- 2021).

Other candidates include Trump’s first female ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina; as well as the former governor of Arkansas, Asa Hutchinson; businessman Vivek Ramaswamy; and radio host Larry Elder, the first African-American to enter the race.

Trump’s closest rival is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, with a 20% vote intention, who is expected to launch his own presidential bid next week.

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