Tim Scott drops out of the 2024 presidential race

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November 12, 2023

By Nnamdi Egwuonwu and Alex Tabet, NBC

Tim Scott speak to media after the third Republican presidential primary debate at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Florida, on Wednesday, November 8, 2023. (Shuran Huang for NBC News)

Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina announced Sunday night that he is dropping out of the 2024 Republican presidential campaign, shocking a TV interviewer and even his own campaign staff with an abrupt departure from the race.

“When I go back to Iowa, it will not be as a presidential candidate. I am suspending my campaign,” Scott said in an appearance on former GOP Rep. Trey Gowdy’s Fox News program.

“I think the voters, who are the most remarkable people on the planet, have been really clear that they’re telling me: not now,” Scott continued.

The announcement was a surprise: Gowdy, a former colleague of Scott’s in the House of Representatives, appeared to do a double-take as he made his statement. Multiple Scott staffers told NBC News they got no warning he was ending the campaign, finding out only by watching him say so on TV.

Scott’s campaign even sent out a fundraising email not long before he announced he was leaving the race. “We want to give you ONE LAST CHANCE to donate this weekend and help Tim reach his campaign goal. Can you chip in to help Tim win?” the campaign wrote.

Read more about the GOP’s preparations for the election.

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