Republican Senator Tim Scott has formed a presidential exploratory committee and started a presidential campaign for the 2024 elections. He recently debuted his first presidential campaign television commercial. Although he is from South Carolina, a major early voting primary state, he will go up against another local favorite, former governor Nikki Haley, for cash and political support.

According to a South Carolina survey, Scott is presently trailing Donald Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley. Haley, who served as South Carolina’s governor before entering Trump’s cabinet, has a home state edge in the state, complicating Scott’s route to victory.

Scott remains the only black Republican serving as a U.S. senator since Reconstruction, starting his career in the Senate ten years ago. His campaign announcement has come during the time of his “Faith in America” listening tour, which signifies the important role faith has in his perspectives and ideas.

Following Scott’s launch of his exploratory committee, a Winthrop University survey, which Trump published, revealed that he is far behind the former president. Among South Carolina Republicans polled, 41% said they planned to vote for Trump, while Scott received only 7% of the vote.

Scott is known for his conservative ideas, expressing in an interview that he would sign a 20-week federal abortion ban into law if he was elected, depicting his pro-life attitude. “When I fought back against their liberal agenda,” he explained in a clip declaring his presidential exploratory committee, “they called me a prop. A token. Because I disrupt their narrative.”