South Dakota’s two senators, both Republicans, are backing Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) for the 2024 GOP nomination. Despite those endorsements by Senate Minority Whip John Thune and Sen. Mike Rounds, or perhaps because of it, former President Donald Trump will visit South Dakota, home to Mount Rushmore, on Friday, Sept. 8, for a “Monumental Leaders Rally.”
Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) will be attending the gathering at the event center “The Monument” at 444 Mt. Rushmore Rd N. Rapid City, South Dakota, 57701. Noem is a staunch Trump supporter and is oft mentioned as his running mate if, as expected, he secures the 2024 Republican nomination.
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South Dakota is a deep red state that hasn’t backed a Democratic White House nominee since it supported President Lyndon Johnson in 1964. And the Mount Rushmore State has elected Republicans for governor every four years from 1978 on. So, President Joe Biden’s 2024 chances in South Dakota are minimal, to put it mildly.
Trump will continue on the state Republican Party circuit with a Friday, Sept. 29, lunch appearance in Southern California. Trump will speak at the California Republican Party’s fall convention, near Disneyland, at 700 W. Convention Way, Anaheim, California, 92802. But Trump won’t have the California Republican Party spotlight to himself. A prominent Trump GOP primary rival, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), is set to speak in Anaheim on that Friday evening at a dinner banquet. South Carolina Sen. Scott will speak before that, on Friday afternoon. And biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy is set to address the California GOP faithful at a lunch banquet on Saturday, Sept. 30
Trump’s advisers recently successfully convinced California Republicans to change the rules of the state’s GOP primary in a manner expected to help him in the state’s March 5 primary. Under the new rules, if a Republican presidential candidate receives more than 50% of the statewide vote, he or she will receive all of the state’s 169 delegates. If no candidate reaches the benchmark, delegates will be awarded proportionally based on the statewide vote.
That’s an important change for the Trump campaign since the former president has by far the most support and name recognition over rivals like former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, along with Trump’s vice president from 2017-21, Mike Pence, plus Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND), former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and ex-Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
Scott returns to Iowa with some reason for optimism
Scott is going big on Iowa, which holds the 2024 first Republican voting event with its Jan. 15 caucuses. The South Carolina senator has spent considerable time in the Hawkeye State during his presidential run. He’ll be back in force at the end of August.
On Wednesday, Aug. 30, Scott will join Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-IA) for a town hall, in LeMars, Iowa. On Thursday, Aug. 31, Scott will host a town hall in Oskaloosa, Iowa. The senator will host another town hall that day, in Ottumwa, Iowa.
Scott recently was among several GOP candidates appearing at the Iowa State Fair, participating in Gov. Kim Reynolds’s (R-IA) “Fair-Side Chat” candidate interview program.
Still, the Iowa campaigning seems to be having a limited effect for Scott, like his GOP opponents. In the first Des Moines Register-NBC News-Mediacom Iowa poll, caucusgoers overwhelmingly said that Trump is their first choice, with 42%.
Scott, though, can claim some bragging rights in the poll. He took third place, behind Trump and DeSantis, with 9% of respondents saying he is their first choice for president.
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Scott’s total “Iowa footprint” adds up to 53% of likely Republican caucusgoers, a measure that includes how they would prioritize their votes beyond their first-choice pick. That included 15% who said Scott was their second choice and 29% of Republican caucusgoers who said they are actively considering him.
And Scott is the only candidate other than Trump and DeSantis whose “footprint” includes more than 50% of likely GOP caucusgoers, leaving him room to grow if Trump somehow falters in Iowa over the next four-plus months.
