Tim Scott seeks Iowans’ feedback on his ‘mission’ for 2024

DES MOINES — South Carolina Senator Tim Scott is in Iowa visiting with key Republicans about the 2024 campaign. Scott has not formally announced he’ll run for president, but has embarked on what he describes as a listening tour to determine what his mission will be.

“Worrying about the title of the position is secondary to understanding the importance of the mission and distilling the components of that mission and how I can accomplish the mission of restoring hope and opportunity for all Americans,” Scott told reporters in Des Moines late Wednesday morning.

Scott spoke at Drake University on Wednesday afternoon and headlined a fundraiser for Polk County Republicans last night. On Wednesday morning, he and Governor Kim Reynolds met with some of the students, teachers and parents at Catholic elementary school in downtown Des Moines.

“I am here because I want to hear from folks in Iowa what they want to hear from elected officials,” Scott said. “The ‘Faith in America Tour’ really is about reestablishing the focus on faith in each other, faith in the future and faith in this amazing nation.”

Scott, a former member of the U.S. House, was appointed to the U.S. Senate in 2013 by South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. Haley, who launched a bid for the GOP’s 2024 presidential nomination last week, campaigned in Iowa earlier this week. Scott has visited Iowa often since joining the U.S. Senate nearly a decade ago, most recently in August as the keynote speaker at Congresswoman Ashley Hinson’s annual fundraiser on the Linn County Fairgrounds.

“Too often our country seems to be polarized whether it’s by black and white or red and blue,” Scott said Wednesday. “The truth is that we are one American family and the better we focus on the unity that we have, the better off the future of the nation.”

Scott won reelection to a second full term in the last November with nearly 63% the vote. He is the first black American to serve in both the U.S. House and Senate.