Tim Scott announces endorsements in Spartanburg

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (WSPA) – Republican presidential candidate Tim Scott is expected to announce key endorsements Monday morning in Spartanburg.

Scott announced his bid for the presidency on May 22.

He will speak at 11:30 a.m. at the AC Hotel in Spartanburg.

The list of supporters, shared with The Associated Press ahead of an official announcement on Monday, includes state Sen. Shane Massey, the current Republican leader of South Carolina’s Senate, who called Scott “the authentic conservative leader we need in the White House right now.”

Daniel Rickenmann, elected in 2021 as the first Republican-aligned mayor of South Carolina’s capital city of Columbia in decades, lauded Scott’s career, which he said had been spent “focusing on people back home and supporting local government to solve real problems.”

Scott also lists the official endorsement of former U.S. Rep. Henry Brown, whose 1st District congressional seat Scott won twice before he was appointed to the U.S. Senate in 2011 by then-Gov. Nikki Haley — now among Scott’s rivals for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

The list also includes 28 other current state lawmakers, including Rep. Bruce Bannister, chairman of the powerful state House Ways and Means Committee, as well as former lawmakers including longtime House Speaker Bobby Harrell, 16 mayors of cities and towns across the state and dozens of county-level officials.

Scott said he was “honored to receive the endorsements of former colleagues and friends.” He previously was endorsed by several Senate colleagues, including John Thune and Mike Rounds, both of South Dakota. Thune spoke at Scott’s launch event last month in North Charleston.