Tim Scott throws in the towel: Republican withdraws from race for White House Watch or turn off? What the digital debate does to people

Tim Scott provided the surprise. On Sunday evening, the Republican presidential candidate announced – without warning – the end of his campaign in a live interview on Fox News Channel. The voters had told him very clearly: ‘Not now, Tim,’ Scott said.

This did not mean the end of his political ambitions, but he had to recognize that the timing was wrong. For now, he declined to make an election call in favor of a Republican competitor. He also emphasized that he was not interested in running for vice president.

58-year-old Tim Scott has represented the southern state of South Carolina in the Senate in Washington since 2013. He is considered one of the most popular members of the small chamber of Congress because of his sunny disposition and also because he has a very impressive biography. However, during the presidential election campaign, the African-American never managed to present himself in a profitable way for a long time. In the three TV debates so far, he appears unobtrusive, like a charismatic traveling preacher who can always quote the right Bible verse.

It’s fitting that Scott has especially attracted media interest when it came to his private life and the fact that he is unmarried. On Wednesday, at the end of the TV debate, he briefly posed on stage with a blonde woman he appeared to introduce as his girlfriend Mindy. “We both love God and we have a healthy respect for each other,” Scott said on ABC television. But he believes Americans are more interested in their own families. To which the moderator replied: “I don’t know…”

Good stats for Scott in Iowa

And yet there was no sign that Scott would throw in the towel before the primaries started in two months. The primary circus begins in Iowa, and there Scott had quite a large following – partly due to his religiosity, which he never made a secret of. He recently ranked fourth in a Trafalgar Group poll, behind Donald Trump (44 percent), Ron DeSantis (18 percent) and Nikki Haley (15 percent), with 9 percent.

After his withdrawal, there are now three serious presidential candidates in the race. There are also two candidates — entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former governor Chris Christie — who have outside opportunities. The faster the field thins, the greater the chance that Republicans can stop pollster Trump. (aargauerzeitung.ch)