RNC speakers: What to know about Tim Scott
The South Carolina senator is scheduled to speak at the RNC on Monday night
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., is one of several reported 2024 presidential hopefuls who secured a speaking slot at the Republican National Convention.
PRESIDENT TRUMP TO PARTICIPATE IN EVERY DAY OF REPUBLICAN CONVENTION
Democrats wrapped up their mostly virtual nominating convention last week. Republicans are preparing for the opening night of their convention on Monday when Scott will be one of the featured speakers.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Republican convention was supposed to take place in Charlotte, N.C., but coronavirus concerns forced the event to go mostly remote as well. President Trump is set to give his acceptance speech from the White House on Thursday, Aug. 27, the final day of the 2020 convention.
Here are four things to know about Scott:
1. He'll share the spotlight with many well-known Republicans on Monday
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Also speaking on Monday are Scott's fellow lawmakers Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, left, and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., leave a news conference to announce a Republican police reform bill on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, June 17, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
His fellow South Carolinian, former Gov. Nikki Haley, is also set to speak Monday, as are conservative figures like RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel and the president's son Donald Trump Jr.
2. He is the first Black senator to represent a Southern state since Reconstruction
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}As governor, Haley appointed Scott to the Senate in 2013 when former Sen. Jim DeMint stepped down to run the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.
The appointment made Scott the first Black senator to represent a Southern state since the Reconstruction era following the Civil War.
Scott won a 2014 special election for his Senate seat and was reelected in 2016.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}3. He was raised by a single mom
Scott's mother, Frances Scott, raised him and his brothers in Charleston, S.C.
"To every kid growing up in poverty wondering if fitting in means dumbing down, the answer is no," Scott told The Post and Courier in a profile of the senator and his mother. "To every single mom who struggles to make ends meet, who wonders if her efforts are in vain, they are not."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and others speak at a news conference to announce a Republican police reform bill on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, June 17, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
4. He's been floated as a 2024 presidential contender
Political pundits have been tossing around the idea of a 2024 Republican presidential run by Scott, who is 54 years old. He's been included in lists that also name Haley, freshman Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark.
"Best person in all of politics," former South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy wrote on Twitter in April. "Incredible story of hope and perseverance. He'd make an amazing POTUS one day."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Scott has said that he will only seek one more term in Congress after promising to finish DeMint's term and serve two terms.