A US senator who sought the Republican presidential nomination will endorse Donald Trump on Friday in a boost to the former president’s bid to secure his party’s backing to retake the White House, media reported.
Senator Tim Scott will announce his endorsement of former president Trump to be the Republican presidential candidate at a rally in New Hampshire, the New York Times reported.
The South Carolina lawmaker was in the race for the nomination until November 12 when he withdrew, declining to endorse any other candidate.
He had hoped to become the first Black Republican president, but struggled to rise above the pack in the party’s crowded field.
Regularly polling in sixth place among Republican primary candidates, the 58-year-old drew only around 2 to 3 percent of the vote, according to the RealClearPolitics average of major opinion polls.
His backing should boost Trump’s so-far dominant effort to fend off challenges for the nomination from former UN ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida governor Ron DeSantis.
CNN reported that Trump had been in discussions with Scott to secure his endorsement before South Carolina holds its primary election on February 24, but that the announcement was brought forward after Haley saw a bounce in support.
During his campaign, Scott frequently underlined his Christian faith and the conservative values he learned growing up in a poor, single-parent household.
He was one of five Republicans appearing in the third televised Republican debate, earlier this month, as challengers for the party’s nomination sparred over Ukraine, China, abortion and the future of the party.
Scott has expressed no interest in becoming a running mate to any of the remaining candidates, saying that being vice president “has never been on my to-do list for this campaign.”
