SC Senator Tim Scott endorses Donald Trump ahead of New Hampshire GOP primary

South Carolina’s U.S. Sen. Tim Scott on Friday evening endorsed former President Donald Trump.

The New York Times was first to report the decision.

Scott appeared at a rally Friday night with Trump in New Hampshire, which holds its GOP primary Tuesday.

The endorsement is a blow to former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who appointed Scott to the U.S. Senate in December 2012. Scott was serving in the U.S. House at the time.

Haley and Trump have been working to get Scott’s endorsement ever since the state’s junior senator dropped out of the race in November.

“We need a president who will lower taxes and not raise our taxes, we need a president like Donald Trump,” Scott said.

The endorsement will increase speculation that Scott, the U.S. Senate’s only Black Republican, is being considered for Trump’s vice presidential running mate, if he goes on to win the nomination.

“We need a president who doesn’t see black or white. We see a president sees Americans as one American family,” Scott said of Trump.

Trump is the GOP front-runner to be the top of the ticket and he is leading in the South Carolina polls ahead of the Feb. 24 primary.

Most of the top political names in South Carolina are backing Trump, including Gov. Henry McMaster, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, and U.S. Reps. Russell Fry, William Timmons and Joe Wilson.

Haley however is polling closer in New Hampshire, hoping to use the state to build momentum into South Carolina.

“Nikki Haley has made an unholy alliance with RINOs (Republicans in name only), never Trumpers, Americans for no prosperity,” Trump said, riffing off of the Koch-network group American for Prosperity who endorsed Haley, “globalists and radical left communists to get liberals and Biden supporters to vote for her in the Republican primary.”

Haley’s campaign criticized Trump gathering of endorsements of the state’s top Republicans.

“Interesting that Trump’s lining up with all the Washington insiders when he claimed he wanted to drain the swamp,” Haley said in a statement. “But the fellas are gonna do what the fellas are gonna do.”

South Carolina Democratic Party Chairwoman Christale Spain said she wasn’t surprised by Scott’s endorsement of Trump.

“Scott’s endorsement makes clear what we’ve been saying all along – Tim Scott is just as MAGA as Donald Trump, and their extreme agenda would be a disaster for this country,” Spain said. in a statement. “South Carolinians deserve better. That’s why we’re organizing to keep the one person who can stop the threat of Trump in the White House – President Joe Biden.”