Sen. Tim Scott signaled Tuesday that he is likely to endorse in South Carolina’s 2016 GOP presidential primary and said the candidates’ positions on school choice could tip the scales.
A day earlier, Scott convened a school choice summit on Capitol Hill that attracted congressional leaders and at least one likely GOP presidential candidate, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. Scott said he has spoken to multiple Republicans eyeing the 2016 contest about coming to South Carolina, home of the presidential primary’s third overall contest and first in the South, to meet with voters.
During the 2012 White House primary, Scott hosted a series of town hall meetings around the Palmetto State that featured the GOP presidential candidates, and he said he plans to bring the events back for the 2016 campaign, with a couple of new wrinkles. This time around, Scott is partnering with Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., for the town hall meetings that he will host in South Carolina’s upstate region; and, unlike in 2012, when Scott remained neutral from the outset, his endorsement is on the table.
“Making sure [school choice] is front and center as we head into 2016 is very important to me because ultimately, as these candidates come through South Carolina, if they do not have an affinity for school choice I’m going to be interested in asking the question, why,” Scott said during a brief interview Tuesday afternoon.
“We are going to be in a position where we may endorse depending on how the candidates form in the state and how I see their agenda being framed. I think last time we started in a position of not endorsing and we told every candidate that came in that we’re not endorsing. This year I’m not in the same position.”
