Updates: SC Sen. Tim Scott says 'radical left' fears him most among 2024 White House hopefuls

From cotton to congress, and now, Tim Scott is in the race for the White House.

Scott, the junior South Carolina Senator, announced his presidential candidacy Monday morning and said the country was in need of new leadership to restore America's spirit.

In North Charleston, his hometown, Scott spoke to close to 2,000 attendees at Charleston Southern University's Buccaneer Fieldhouse and platformed his "Faith in America" mission statement. He said the country was in need of optimism.

"We live in the land where it is possible for a kid raised in poverty by a single mother in a small apartment to one day serve in the People’s House and maybe even the White House,” Scott said Monday.

Listen below as the News Statehouse reporter, Devyani Chhetri, talks to NPR's Hear & Now on Tim Scott's presidential announcement.

Amid technical difficulties and a packed room, Scott blamed the "radical left" for the country's grievances and attacks on religious liberty.

"The radical left is pushing us into a culture of grievance instead of a culture of greatness," he said, adding that he was the candidate the far-left feared the most.

Like other candidates, Scott focused on attacking the Biden-Harris administration for its border and immigration policies. He made no mention of other candidates, including former President Donald Trump.

Repeating campaign points, Scott said the rise of fentanyl deaths to the lack of secure borders had made every county in the U.S. a border issue.

Though COVID-19 policies of shutting schools were a state issue and were mostly undertaken under the Trump administration, Scott clubbed the evolution of COVID-19 impact's on learning with the critical race theory debate raging across the U.S. Claiming that his presidency would lead to "more ABC and less CRT".

Scott stepped off the stage right before announcing his presidential run, circled the room and stood level with the crowd, rousing cheers. It was unlike anything any candidate had done so far mid-speech.

As the lone Black Republican in the Senate vying to be the first African-American to win the GOP nomination, Scott officially entered the presidential race Friday when he filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission. If he wins, he would be the second elected to the White House, after Democrat Barack Obama in 2008.

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U.S. Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, who holds the No. 2 ranking in the Senate, endorsed Scott during the event and referred to the South Carolina Senator as an “inspirational and aspirational candidate.”

In his time as a Senator, the South Carolina Republican allied himself with opportunity zones, a bipartisan legislation that gives state governors the authority to identify economically-distressed zip-codes, often inhabited by minority communities and offer federal tax incentives for private businesses to invest in and develop the communities.

Recently, Scott was also involved in pushing the "Secure the Border" legislation as a response to Biden's Inflation Reduction Act. The legislation would increase funding for border patrol agents.

“I don’t know about you but I think our country is ready to be inspired,” Thune said, adding that Scott was the "real deal".

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Supporters see Scott as 'voice of reason' in crowded GOP field of White House hopefuls

Scott’s record as a serious lawmaker in Washington D.C. driven by a “cotton to Congress” story is backbone of his campaign. His humble beginnings as the son of a single mother evolved after he met John Moniz, a conservative Chick-fil-A operator, who mentored him at a very young age.

His story was already proving to be the glue that bridged the gap between him and potential voters.

Longtime Republican voters and Charleston County residents Steven Rubin, 79, and his wife Toni, 67, were among the first to arrive to show their support Monday outside the Field House at Charleston Southern University.

“He came from a family with nothing and went to Washington,” Steven said, “We should be very proud.”

As the presidential field grows, another homegrown influence, former U.N. Ambassador and S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley, battled for attention. The Charleston couple were confident Scott would perform exceedingly well because he would be a “better voice of reason.”

One of Scott’s former interns, Dante Garido, 22, said Scott’s faith set him apart from other competitors. “What drives him to help as many people as he can and also his mission to statement to positively affect a billion people—I think that’s a great goal and it’s something that America needs right now,” Garido said.

Though Scott is trailing, Garido believed he was a come back from behind type of a candidate. “I think the other candidates are just preaching the same thing,” he said.

But Scott’s message of individual responsibility gave him a unique edge.

"American families are starving for hope," Scott tweeted Thursday. "We need to have faith. Faith in God, faith in each other, and faith in America."

But Scott is not the only South Carolinian in the race. Former Gov. Nikki Haley, who appointed Scott to a vacant U.S. Senate seat in late 2012, also is running.

Latest polls have Scott trailing behind former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ahead of the 2024 elections, however, polls fluctuate change as the primary field widens with candidates.

Once Scott kicks off his run in North Charleston, he will head to early primary voting states, Iowa and New Hampshire, to pitch is candidacy to voters.

Scott looks to appeal to evangelicals, flush with money

The devoutly evangelical Scott, who has put his faith and hardship upbringing at the center of his campaign, will enter the race flush with money. He has squirreled away roughly $22 million cash on hand, which his aides argue makes him one of the few GOP contenders who can seriously challenge Trump.

The budding campaign has also carved out about $6 million in TV and radio ads and has placed his first TV ad spending in early presidential primary states, according to Medium Buying.

Scott proved to be a formidable fundraiser during the 2022 campaign when he hauled in $43.1 million for his reelection, according to Federal Election Commission records. A Scott-aligned super PAC, Opportunity Matters Fund Action, has almost matched that figure, raising about $37.3 million, according to OpenSecrets.

Scott will need every penny to build up his name recognition as he hovers around 2% in the primary surveys.

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SC Democratic Party responds to Scott's Presidential announcement

Scott's entry into the presidential field has Democrats gauging his influence based on his performance in past elections.

"Tim Scott typically does 5% to 8% better among Black voters than your average SC Republican running statewide," Greenville Democrat Jalen Elrod said.

Much like what they during Haley’s announcement, the South Carolina Democratic Party had a mobile billboard circling Charleston Southern University Monday morning, with Scott’s comments from a segment on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show. In the clip, Scott tells Hannity that there are not many differences between him and Trump’s platform.

"Here in South Carolina, we know how dangerous Tea Party extremist Tim Scott is, and based on the last few weeks, the rest of America is finding out too," South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Christale Spain said ahead of Scott's announcement. "From promising to sign the most conservative abortion ban possible as president, to doubling down on his role as ‘architect’ of the 2017 GOP tax scam that pushed tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy at the expense of working families, Scott has proven himself to be just as MAGA as the rest of the 2024 field.”

“South Carolina Democrats will continue to hold him accountable for his record,” Spain said.

Former SC Democratic party leader Jaime Harrison, who now chairs the Democratic National Committee, said: "Tim Scott wants to govern from the ‘far, conservative right’ as a proud member of the Tea Party, and his extreme record proves it."

Today's David Jackson and Phillip M. Bailey contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: SC Sen. Tim Scott makes 2024 White House run official. The latest.