For many Republican politicians, the quickest path to power and money is to court controversy on TV. Donald Trump, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz and other GOP firebrands have all launched their political careers by spreading conspiracy theories, demonizing opponents and hogging as many headlines as possible. Even Republicans with establishment roots — such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — have learned how to grab donations and attention by exploiting explosive culture-war issues.
Tim Scott has a different playbook. The South Carolina senator, who is expected to join the 2024 Republican presidential race later this month, has quickly built a national profile and a cash surplus by earning media attention — not through controversy but through compromise. That strategy has made him the strongest candidate of the GOP’s second tier.
Scott has been in Congress since 2011, but he mostly flew under the media’s radar until Trump took office. At that point, Scott started gaining coverage for steering his party on racial issues and test-driving an optimistic message.
For example, Scott refused to “defend the indefensible” as Trump said there were “very fine people” on both sides of a white-nationalist riot in Charlottesville. He also led the GOP’s police reform efforts after George Floyd was murdered. He has received smaller boosts for similar efforts during President Biden’s time in office.
His “happy warrior” persona also drove coverage. In two key speeches — during prime time at the 2020 Republican National Convention and a response to Biden’s April 2021 address to Congress — Scott described America in positive terms. He touted the GOP approach to increasing economic opportunity and described his own ascent up the socioeconomic ladder, notably claiming that America was “not a racist country.” Scott’s goal was clear: differentiate himself from Democrats while avoiding Trump’s almost apocalyptic tone.
The result has been a fundraising windfall:
The Scott donors I spoke with praised his policy chops, his ability to compromise and his personal story of hard work and upward mobility. Don Childress, a real estate developer from Atlanta, donated $5,800 to Scott on April 27, 2021, when Scott gave the Republican response to Biden’s first address before a joint session of Congress. “After enduring Trump’s total lack of character, I wanted to support a capable candidate who had lived a life of dignity and integrity,” he told me. “And I believe that Tim Scott exemplifies those characteristics.”
Donations such as these added up. At the end of the 2022 election cycle, Scott’s Senate campaign had nearly $22 million in the bank — more than Trump or former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley raised in the first quarter of their 2024 presidential bids.
Despite his impressive war chest, Scott is still a long shot. Trump and DeSantis are the top-tier candidates. Together, they have almost 80 percent support in national primary polls. Scott sits at 2 percent.
But Scott is in a better position than many others. Former vice president Mike Pence permanently burned bridges with the GOP rank and file when he certified Biden’s victory. Haley’s favorability ratings have dropped since she entered the race. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson is a Reagan-era relic who can’t see how outdated he is. Vivek Ramaswamy looks like yet another rich guy clawing desperately for validation in politics. Other potential contenders are even less inspiring.
Scott, by contrast, enjoys broad goodwill within his party. If DeSantis continues to lose ground, Scott could mop up the moderates who see the Florida governor as the most plausible Trump challenger. And if the 76-year-old Trump stumbles before finishing the race, Scott has positioned himself as a less controversial alternative to DeSantis. If Scott manages his campaign’s budget well, he could stay in the race for a while, waiting for his chance.
Scott isn’t a front-runner — and he might never become one. But he’s in the third-best position of any candidate. The fact that he rose to that level through optimism and compromise in a party that rewards negativity and belligerence is no small feat.
