US Republican Senator Tim Scott to launch 2024 presidential exploratory committee: Reports

WASHINGTON - Republican Senator Tim Scott was planning to launch a presidential exploratory committee on Wednesday, a key step towards running for United States president in 2024, The Post and Courier newspaper in South Carolina reported, citing sources.

If he runs in the election, Mr Scott will be challenging former president Donald Trump, who

launched his campaign in November 2022

and recently became the first former US president to be

criminally indicted by a grand jury.

Mr Scott was scheduled to be in Iowa, the lead-off state in the Republican presidential nominating process, on Wednesday.

He will travel to New Hampshire on Thursday before returning to his home state of South Carolina on Friday ahead of a local summit in Charleston, the newspaper said on Tuesday.

As the only black Republican in the US Senate, Mr Scott, 57, has taken a leading role in police reform efforts and has spoken frequently on racial issues.

He often called out Trump during his presidency over racially charged comments and blocked several of his judicial nominees for such reasons.

At the same time, Mr Scott has accused Democrats of exploiting racial tensions for partisan gain.

He has described himself as being a victim of racial prejudice but has insisted, as he put it in a 2021 speech, that “America is not a racist country”.

Republicans who have formally launched campaigns for the party’s 2024 nomination include former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, activist investor Vivek Ramaswamy and former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis

and former vice-president Mike Pence are also expected to join the race, though neither has announced his candidacy.

Polls show Mr DeSantis as Trump’s closest rival for the Republican nomination. REUTERS