Super PAC backing Tim Scott hires 2 SC political operatives ahead of potential 2024 run

A super PAC backing U.S. Sen. Tim Scott has hired two South Carolina political operatives ahead of the senator’s potential 2024 presidential run.

Matt Moore, who previously chaired the South Carolina Republican Party, and Mark Knoop, who served as Gov. Henry McMaster’s 2022 campaign manager, have joined the Opportunity Matters Fund Action political action committee, according to a news release.

Their hirings were first reported Monday by the Charleston Post and Courier.

This is the latest move that those around Scott are gearing up for his jump into the 2024 presidential race.

Scott has not said whether he will seek the White House, but he has made visits to Iowa and New Hampshire, states that kick off the GOP nominating process. He also is slated to give donors an update of his political plans later this month.

So far the GOP 2024 pack includes former President Donald Trump, former S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.

Former Sen. Cory Gardner, a Colorado Republican and chair of Scott’s PAC, said in the release he’s excited for Knoop and Moore to join the group.

“They know the Palmetto State better than anyone and will play a vital role as we talk with South Carolinians about America’s future and the role leaders like Tim will play in it,” Gardner said.

Knoop and Moore join the super PAC, which raised $37 million during the 2022 election cycle according to the nonpartisan Open Secrets, a group that tracks money in politics, roughly 10 months before the South Carolina holds the first-in-the-South presidential primary.

Moore is currently the managing partner of public relations and political strategy firm First Tuesday Strategies and was as GOP chairman from 2013 to 2017. He also previously worked as Scott’s state director for his Senate office.

“Mark and I will lead a team focused on sharing Sen. Scott’s opportunity agenda and inspirational vision throughout the state,” Moore said in a statement. “Whether it’s building grassroots support or through earned and paid media, OMFA plans on having a strong presence in South Carolina.”

Knoop is the owner of campaign management company Forward Communications & Strategies in Columbia. He previously worked on campaigns for U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, and was Attorney General Alan Wilson’s 2018 campaign manager. He also was former Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s S.C. field director during his 2012 presidential campaign.

“South Carolinians — and Americans as a whole — are hungry for the kind of hopeful and transformational leadership that Tim Scott can bring,” Knoop said in a statement. “I’m proud to join Cory and the team in this fight for more freedom and opportunity for all.”