Tim Scott, the first Black Republican elected to the Senate from the South since Reconstruction, announced his campaign for president on Monday, bringing a positive, aspirational message to a growing field of Republicans running as alternatives to former President Donald J. Trump.
Mr. Scott’s decision, which followed a soft rollout in February and the creation of an exploratory committee in April, came this time with a signal to the Republican establishment that he was the candidate to rally around if the party is to stop Mr. Trump’s nomination. He was introduced by the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, John Thune of South Dakota, and will immediately begin a $5.5 million advertising blitz in the early nominating states of Iowa and New Hampshire.
“Our party and our nation are standing at a time for choosing: Victimhood or victory?” he said, repeating the choice three times to a packed and boisterous morning rally in the gym of his alma mater, Charleston Southern University….
This article was written by Jonathan Weisman and Maya King and originally published on www.nytimes.com