Tim Scott
Timothy Eugene Scott (born September 19, 1965) is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator from South Carolina since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a Charleston city councilor, a state representative, and a U.S. Representative. He also worked in financial services before entering politics.
For other people named Tim Scott, see Tim Scott (disambiguation).
Tim Scott
Keith Summey
Elliott Summey
Mindy Noce (engaged 2024)
Scott served on the Charleston County Council from 1995 to 2009. He then served in the South Carolina General Assembly from 2009 to 2011, and represented South Carolina's 1st congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013.
Nikki Haley, who was then governor of South Carolina, appointed Scott to the U.S. Senate in 2013 to fill a vacancy. He retained his Senate seat after winning a special election in 2014, and was elected to a full term in 2016 and reelected in 2022. He became the first African-American senator to be elected from the Southern United States since the Reconstruction era.[1][2]
Scott was a candidate in the 2024 Republican Party presidential primaries, forming an exploratory committee on April 13, 2023.[3] He filed Federal Election Commission paperwork to run for president on May 19, and formally declared his candidacy three days later.[4] Scott suspended his campaign on November 12 of that year due to low poll numbers.[5]
Early life and education
Tim Scott was born on September 19, 1965, in North Charleston, South Carolina, to Frances, a nursing assistant, and Ben Scott Sr. When Scott was seven years old, his parents divorced, leaving him and his older brother, who later became a sergeant major in the U.S. Army, to grow up in working-class poverty with their mother. Frances often worked double shifts to support her family.[6][7]
After his parents' divorce, Scott, along with his mother and older brother, moved into his maternal grandparents' house. There, he formed a close bond with his grandfather.[6]
As a freshman at North Charleston's R.B. Stall High School, he failed several subjects, prompting his mother to send him to summer school, which he had to finance by working at a local movie theater.[6] During this time, he met John Moniz, the owner of a nearby Chick-fil-A. Their initial interaction over a sandwich at Scott's workplace evolved into a substantial mentorship. Moniz educated Scott on individual responsibility, conservative business principles, philanthropy, and finance.[6]
From an early age, Scott enjoyed sports, and excelled at football. He overcame racial prejudice in high school, securing election as student body vice president in his junior year and student body president as a senior.[6]
A month before his senior year, he fell asleep while driving, resulting in a car accident that dimmed his prospects as a football recruit. Nevertheless, he attended Presbyterian College from 1983 to 1984 on a partial football scholarship. There he was introduced to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, an encounter that led him to his Christian faith, which became a central part of his life.[6] Scott later transferred to Charleston Southern University, where he graduated in 1988 with a Bachelor of Science degree in political science.[8]
Upon graduating from college, Scott worked as an insurance agent and financial adviser, a stepping stone toward starting his insurance agency, Tim Scott Allstate. His professional accomplishments enabled him to purchase a home for his mother.[6]
U.S. Senate (2013–present)
2012 appointment
On December 17, 2012, South Carolina governor Nikki Haley announced she would appoint Scott to replace retiring Senator Jim DeMint, who had previously announced that he would retire from the Senate to become the President of The Heritage Foundation.[60] Scott is the first African American U.S. senator from South Carolina. He was one of three black U.S. Senators in the 113th Congress, alongside Mo Cowan and later Cory Booker (and the first since Roland Burris retired in 2010 after succeeding Barack Obama). He is the first African American to be a U.S. senator from the Southern United States since Reconstruction.[61]
During two periods, first from January 2, 2013, until February 1, 2013, and again from July 16, 2013, until October 31, 2013, Scott was the only African American senator. He and Cowan were the first black senators to serve alongside each other.
News media reported that Scott, Representative Trey Gowdy, former South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster, former First Lady of South Carolina Jenny Sanford, and South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control Director Catherine Templeton were on Haley's short list to replace DeMint.[62] Of choosing Scott, Haley said, "It is important to me, as a minority female, that Congressman Scott earned this seat, he earned this seat for the person that he is. He earned this seat with the results he has shown."[63]
Political positions
Taxes and spending
Scott believes that federal spending and taxes should be reduced,[13] with a Balanced Budget Amendment and the FairTax respectively implemented for spending and taxes.
Health care
Scott believes the Affordable Care Act should be repealed.[13][90][91] He has said that U.S. health care is among the greatest in the world,[91] that people all over the world come to study in American medical schools, waiting lists are rare, and that Americans are able to choose their insurance, providers, and course of treatment.[91] Scott supports an alternative to the ACA that he says keeps its benefits while controlling costs by reforming the medical tort system by limiting non-economic damages[91] and by reforming Medicare.[91]
In January 2019, Scott was one of six senators to cosponsor the Health Insurance Tax Relief Act, delaying the Health Insurance Tax for two years.[92]
Economic development
Scott supports infrastructure development and public works for his district.[13] He opposes restrictions on deepwater oil drilling.[13] He proposed the opportunity zone designation in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.
Scott was among the 31 Senate Republicans who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.[93]
Social issues
Scott describes himself as pro-life and has been a vocal opponent of abortion. He supports adult and cord blood stem cell research,[94] but opposes taxpayer-funded embryonic stem cell research[95] and the creation of human embryos for experimentation.[96] In a 2023 interview, he said he would sign a 20-week federal abortion ban into law if elected president.[97] He also opposes assisted suicide.[94] While campaigning for president, he has dodged questions about whether he supports a six-week abortion ban.[98]
Scott opposes same-sex marriage,[99] and voted against the Respect for Marriage Act of 2022, which provided federal statutory recognition of same-sex marriage.[100]
In 2022 and 2023, he and Senator Rick Scott (no relation) co-sponsored the PROTECT Kids Act, a bill that would cut federal funding to schools unless they informed parents of changes in children's "pronouns, gender markers, or sex-based accommodations (including locker rooms and bathrooms)."[101] On August 23, 2023, in a debate between Republican presidential candidates, he said: "If God made you a man, you play sports—against men."[102]
Immigration
Scott supports federal legislation similar to Arizona SB 1070.[103] He supports strengthening penalties for employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.[103] He also promotes cultural assimilation by making English the official language in the government and requiring new immigrants to learn English.[103] He opposes a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.[104]
Labor
Scott introduced a bill that would deny food stamps to families whose incomes declined to the point of eligibility because a family member was participating in a labor strike.[105]
Foreign policy
Scott advocated continued military presence in Afghanistan and believed early withdrawal would benefit al-Qaeda. He views Iran as the world's most dangerous country and believes the U.S. should aid pro-democracy groups there.[106] Scott opposed the 2011 military intervention in Libya.[107]
Scott rejected calls for a ceasefire in the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, saying: "You cannot negotiate with evil. You have to destroy it."[108] He opposed sending humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.[109] In a November 2023 Republican presidential primary debate, Scott suggested there could be no U.S.-Iranian diplomatic settlement; when asked about attacks by Iranian proxy forces in Iraq and Syria, he responded, "You actually have to cut off the head of the snake, and the head of the snake is Iran and not simply their proxies."[110]
Personal life
Scott has never been married and has no children.[6] During the late 1990s, he publicly declared himself a virgin, and claimed to have taken a pledge of abstinence until marriage. In 2012, when asked if he was still following his pledge, Scott replied, "Not as well as I did then".[139]
In May 2023, he shared details about being in a relationship with an unnamed girlfriend.[140] In November 2023, he publicly announced he was dating Mindy Noce, an interior designer from Charleston. The couple appeared together at the third 2024 Republican primary debate.[141] On January 21, 2024, Scott announced their engagement.[142]
Before entering politics, Scott worked in the insurance and real estate industries, becoming the owner of Tim Scott Allstate and a partner in Pathway Real Estate Group, LLC. He is a member of Seacoast Church, a large evangelical church in Charleston.[143][144]