Tim Scott is a serious, decent option
Voters looking for an upbeat, viable conservative for president should look into Sen. Tim Scott.
The South Carolina Republican has themed his campaign “Faith in America,” a double entendre signaling his love for the country and his Christian faith.
Scott grew up poor in North Charleston to a single mom whose strong guidance steered him in the right direction, along with the help of a conservative mentor. Scott failed four classes as a high-school freshman — his life could have gone very differently without their help.
Scott not only witnessed firsthand the lack of opportunities in America's impoverished communities, but also the racism that comes from being a black man in America – especially in the south in the '70s.
I remember Scott telling his story eight years ago when I was a reporter covering the U.S. Senate for CQ Roll Call. He called it “cotton to Congress,” citing his family's journey from his third-grade-dropout grandfather picking cotton to Scott becoming a U.S. senator.
“We live in the land where it is absolutely possible for a kid raised in poverty in a singleparent household in a small apartment to one day serve in the People's House and maybe even the White House,” Scott said in his announcement this week, according to The Guardian. “This is the greatest nation on God's green Earth.”
Scott's consistently been one of the most conservative members of Congress since being elected to the House in 2010 the congressional tracking website Govtrack ranks Scott as the ninth most conservative.
Yet for his unflinching conservatism — look him up and check his bonafides — he also developed a reputation as someone willing to work across the aisle when the opportunity arises (as Congress was designed).
When I first met Scott he was working on a bipartisan criminal justice reform package, finding common cause with Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey.
Scott was pushing for police body cameras as well, not because of any animosity towards police (he's been consistently pro-police), but because body cameras would help protect cops who were innocent and help discover the truth when situations went wrong.
Besides his personal story, Scott is guided by his faith. While I appreciate politicians who are Christian, this can also turn dark when it becomes merely a campaign slogan or when the politician starts to sound like a Christian Taliban.
Scott's faith — and conservatism — informs his desire to help others. It guides his opportunity agenda, where he seeks to provide economic opportunities to enable people to lift themselves out of poverty. It guided his push for criminal justice reform. And it guides his bipartisanship — just as it guides his pro-life positions.
Scott isn't the type to say provocative things just to get attention. Instead, when he says something it's because he has something worthwhile to say.
When racism rose to the top of our national discourse (one of the many times), Scott offered his experience of being racially profiled, even by Capitol police. But he used it as an opportunity to unite people instead of tearing them down.
The South Carolina Republican entered the race this week with an optimistic vision and $22 million in cash on hand, which, according to PBS NewsHour, is the most by any candidate entering the presidential race in U.S. history.
The campaign funds make Scott relevant, as does the fact that he's a very popular elected official in an early primary state. He was re-elected in 2022 with 62% of the vote.
I am not able to tell his story like he can — again, look him up. It will be worth your time.