First on Fox: Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina announces presidential exploratory committee

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Sen. Tim Scott announces 2024 bid for the White House

The South Carolina senator joined 'Fox & Friends' to announce he is launching a 2024 exploratory committee to run for president.

EXCLUSIVE – Saying that he will "never back down in defense of the conservative values that make America exceptional," Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina on Wednesday took a major step towards running for the White House as he launched a presidential exploratory committee. 

Showcasing his message of faith, hope, and unity, Scott emphasized in a video that was shared first with Fox News that "this is the fight we must win. And that will take faith. Faith in God, faith in each other, and faith in America."

The senator recorded his video by Fort Sumter National Monument, the island fort that long protected Charleston, South Carolina, where the first battle in the Civil War was fought. Scott, who grew up in the Charleston area, is launching his presidential exploratory committee on the 162nd anniversary of Civil War’s start.

"On this day, April 12, 1861, in this harbor, the first shots of the Civil War were fired and our country faced the defining moment: Would we truly be one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. America’s soul was put to the test - and we prevailed," Scott said at the top of the video.

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But he lamented that "today, our country is once again being tested. Once again, our divisions run deep and the threat to our future is real."

And taking aim President Biden and Democrats, the senator argued that "Joe Biden and the radical left have chosen a culture of grievance over greatness. They’re promoting victimhood instead of personal responsibility and they’re indoctrinating our children to believe we live in an evil country."

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Scott, a rising star in the GOP and the only Black Republican in the Senate, charged that Democrats "weaponize race to divide us to hold onto their power," and highlighted that "when I fought back against their liberal agenda they called me a prop. A token. Because I disrupt their narrative. I threaten their control. They know the truth of my life disproves their lies."

Scott spotlighted his modest upbringing, noting that he "was raised by a single mother in poverty. The spoons in our apartment were plastic, not silver."

Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina speaks at a donor conference hosted by the conservative group the Club for Growth, on March 4,, 2023 in Palm Beach, Florida (Fox News ) (Fox News)

In announcing his exploratory committee, Scott vowed that he’ll "defend the Judeo-Christian foundation our nation is built on, and protect our religious liberty." And he pledged to "stand up to Communist China, and restore opportunities for hardworking Americans to thrive and prosper" and "fight to give every parent a choice in education so their children have a better chance in life."

Scott also said he’ll defend the nation’s borders as well as "our neighborhood streets" and emphasized he’ll "protect our most fundamental right -the right to life itself."

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The senator, who was a guest on Fox News’ "Fox and Friends on Wednesday morning, released his video announcement as he arrives for his second trip in a month to Iowa, the state whose caucuses kick off the GOP presidential nominating calendar. On Thursday, Scott makes his first stop this cycle to New Hampshire, which holds the first primary and second contest overall in the Republican schedule.

Scott is on what he calls his "Faith in America" listening tour, which he said would help him decide whether to launch a presidential campaign. Word of the tour was first reported by Fox News earlier this year. 

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C. speaks during the Republican Party of Polk County Lincoln Dinner, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023, in West Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) (AP )

The Iowa and New Hampshire visits will be immediately followed by a two-day donor summit in his home state of South Carolina, which votes third in the GOP presidential primary schedule.

Scott, who cruised to re-election last November to what he has said will be his final six-year term in the Senate, is expected to court evangelical Christian voters, who play an outsized role in GOP politics in Iowa and his home state. Former Vice President Mike Pence, who also appears to be moving toward a 2024 campaign, has long been a champion to social conservatives and is also expected to heavily court evangelicals in Iowa and South Carolina.

Scott would also face serious competition from Nikki Haley, the former ambassador to the United Nations and former two-term South Carolina governor who launched a 2024 presidential campaign two months ago. Haley, who’s spending plenty of time on the campaign trail in Iowa and New Hampshire, and Scott share many of the same allies and donors. 

Former President Trump, who announced his third White House run in November, remains the clear front-runner in the GOP nomination race. 

And polls indicate that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who remains on the 2024 sidelines but is expected to launch a campaign later this spring or summer, would be Trump’s top rival.

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While Scott doesn’t have the same national standing with conservatives that Trump and DeSantis enjoy, he’s known as a ferocious fundraiser who had more than $20 million in his campaign coffers at the beginning of the year, which could be transferred to a presidential campaign. The fundraising war chest could give Scott a head start over some of his potential rivals.

News of Scott’s presidential exploratory committee launch was first reported Tuesday evening by the "Post and Courier" newspaper in South Carolina.