US GOP primary: Does Tim Scott have a chance?

THE political news in Washington last week was dominated by the Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ launch of his presidential campaign on a live Twitter chat on Wednesday evening (May 24) that was plagued by glitches, but which nonetheless enjoyed an audience of hundreds of thousands of listeners.

From that perspective, less attention was focused on Republican politician Tim Scott – South Carolina’s first Black senator and now the Senate’s lone Black Republican, whose personal and political story embodies in many ways the American dream – when he declared his candidacy for president last Monday.

“We live in the land where it is possible for a kid raised in poverty by a single mother in a small apartment to one day serve in the People’s House and maybe even the White House,” said 57-year-old Senator Scott, who held the official announcement event at his alma mater, Charleston Southern University. He was speaking in front of supporters, with his name and campaign slogan, “Faith in America”, on the backdrop.