(C) Florida Phoenix This story was originally published by Florida Phoenix and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . SC Sen. Tim Scott endorses Donald Trump over Haley for president [1] ['Skylar Laird', 'More From Author', '- January'] Date: 2024-01-21 COLUMBIA — South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott endorsed former President Donald Trump during a Friday night rally in New Hampshire, four days ahead of the state’s Republican primary. The endorsement, first reported by The New York Times, passes over former Gov. Nikki Haley, who appointed Scott to the U.S. Senate in December 2012. Scott joins South Carolina’s senior senator, Lindsey Graham, as well as half of South Carolina’s six GOP U.S. House members in backing Trump over their former governor: Reps. Russell Fry of Horry County, Joe Wilson of Lexington County and William Timmons of Greenville County. The only Republican congressman backing Haley instead is Ralph Norman of York County, who served in the state House when Haley was a legislator and governor. The other two GOP members of the delegation have yet to endorse anyone in the presidential contest. “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 in response to the endorsement. “But the fellas are gonna do what the fellas are gonna do,” she added. After dropping out of the presidential race in November, Scott stayed mum on who he might endorse, declining to choose a candidate during the Fox News Channel segment in which he dropped out of the race. Scott’s name has been raised as a potential running mate for Trump. During his own campaign, Scott never bashed Trump, unlike others in the contest. And the two worked together on legislation when Trump was in the White House. That includes a 2017 law creating Opportunity Zones, touted as a way to revitalize low-income areas by offering tax breaks to businesses that invest in them. In his 2020 State of the Union address, Trump recognized Scott for starting the initiative, which Democrats have criticized as helping the well-connected more than the vulnerable. During the same Fox News segment in which Scott announced the end of his campaign, he told the show’s host, former U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy — a longtime friend — he didn’t want to be vice president. Still, Scott could change his mind, as politicians tend to do. Before becoming Trump’s United Nations ambassador, Haley said she intended to serve out her second term as governor. Trump has led the 2024 GOP presidential pack from the outset. On Monday, he won Iowa by a mile, taking a historic, 30-percentage-point margin of victory over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Haley trailed 2 points behind him for third place. Polls have shown Haley getting closer to Trump and DeSantis far behind in New Hampshire, where primary voters weigh in Tuesday. The Granite State’s governor, Chris Sununu, backs Haley. But she’s still expected to place second there, before the crucial first-in-the-South primary in South Carolina on Feb. 24. Editor’s note: This article was updated after Scott’s announcement to reflect that he did endorse Trump (rather than planned to) and to correct the years Scott was re-elected to the U.S. Senate. This story was published earlier by the South Carolina Daily Gazette, an affiliate of the nonprofit States Newsroom network, which includes the Florida Phoenix. [END] --- [1] Url: https://floridaphoenix.com/2024/01/21/sc-sen-tim-scott-endorses-donald-trump-over-haley-for-president/ Published and (C) by Florida Phoenix Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/floridaphoenix/