Who Is Tim Scott’s ‘Girlfriend’? Unmarried Single Status Scrutinized

Supply: Invoice Clark / Getty

One of probably the most sudden political narratives rising throughout this younger 2024 marketing campaign season has revolved across the marital standing of the top-polling Black candidate operating for president of the US.

With Republican donors reportedly urgent the difficulty, the storyline of the only South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott searching for the presidency has dominated headlines forward of the second Republican presidential debate later this month. Consequently, Scott, who turns 58 subsequent week, has been unable to keep away from the scrutiny of being a bachelor that critics counsel could be rooted in homophobia greater than it’s a nod to Republicans’ so-called household values.

That’s possible why Scott has been more and more mentioning his “girlfriend” in current weeks.

So, who’s Tim Scott’s girlfriend”? Right here’s what he’s stated.

The subject of Scott’s singleness has possible come up earlier than, but it surely’s by no means made nationwide headlines the way in which it’s now.

It was seemingly first delivered to the nationwide consciousness in an interview with NBC Information in Might when he was requested whether or not he “had time for a lady” in his life amid a presidential marketing campaign.

“Oh, there’s at all times– there’s at all times time for– an incredible relationship with a beautiful lady. And I thank god that that’s occurring. However– so I’ll go away it there,” Scott stated cryptically.

A few week later, Scott went frivolously extra into depth whereas casually mentioning throughout an interview with Axios that he has a “girlfriend” in response to a query about why voters would need to hear about household values from an single man with no kids.

Whereas explaining that we’re not “dwelling in 1963,” Scott instructed he lives along with his “girlfriend” and emphasised that his standing as an single man permits him extra time for work and along with his companion. “My girlfriend needs to see me once I get residence,” Scott stated.

Presidential Hopefuls Square Off In First GOP Debate

Republican presidential candidate, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) speaks through the first debate of the GOP main season hosted by FOX Information on the Fiserv Discussion board on August 23, 2023,married in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. | Supply: Win McNamee / Getty

Ever since then, Scott has been pressed about being single. That reality has particularly been ramped up in the previous few weeks, together with late final month with a separate Axios report claiming that “GOP donors fret over Scott’s single standing.”

In that occasion, an nameless “senior official for Scott’s marketing campaign informed Axios the South Carolina senator might be discussing the difficulty within the coming weeks,” the information outlet wrote.

Days later, with out mentioning his “girlfriend,” Scott stated with out proof that his opponents had been plating tales within the press about his single standing which he stated “voters don’t care” about, NBC Information reported.

“Individuals plant tales which have conversations to distract from our rise within the polls, to distract from our measurement of our viewers,” Scott stated. “What we’ve seen is that ballot after ballot says that the voters don’t care, but it surely looks like opponents do care, and so media protection that opponents plant — it’s OK. Excellent news is we simply maintain combating the nice combat.”

And now, simply this previous weekend, Scott vowed on Fox Information to disclose the identification of his “fantastic girlfriend” and reiterated that the explanation his single standing has change into such an enormous deal is as a result of his candidacy instills concern within the different Republicans operating for president.

“I’ve a beautiful girlfriend, and we have now a beautiful relationship,” Scott stated on Saturday. “The excellent news is that God has blessed me with a sensible, Christian lady. That’s nice information, however extra importantly is, why are the headlines there? The headlines are there as a result of as I rise within the polls, as individuals present up at night time in my city halls, it scares even my opponents.”

Scott stated his “girlfriend” can be launched to the world “sooner or later.”

On Tuesday, Scott had much more to say about his “girlfriend” in an interview with the Washington Publish. He repeated his plans to introduce her to the world and instructed he had intentions to marry her.

“I can’t think about dragging her onto the marketing campaign path except I’ve the intention of marrying her,” Scott informed the Publish. “I hope that occurs, to be sincere with you.”

Scott didn’t enable the Publish to fulfill his “girlfriend,” however his marketing campaign supervisor vouched for her. Nevertheless, the Publish reported that “six pals” of Scott “stated they didn’t learn about a girl in his life.”

The USA has not elected an single president since James Buchanan in 1856, or 167 years in the past. Nevertheless it’s essential to notice that when Scott’s fellow single Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham ran for president in 2016, this sort of scrutiny was lacking from his marketing campaign.

Maybe that’s as a result of, as Scott says, his candidacy is seen as extra of a viable risk to the front-runners than Graham’s candidacy was seen through the 2016 election cycle.

However, possibly – simply possibly – it’s a bit deeper than that, what with the so-called “woke” tradition wars being waged by Republicans towards all the pieces from Black historical past faculty curriculum to homosexual rights and way more.

“‘Bachelor standing’ is code for ‘sexual identification,’” Boston Globe columnist and affiliate opinion editor Renée Graham defined final week. “And Republicans not eager on a candidate going through 4 prison trials could be much more unlikely to help somebody they could imagine may very well be a closeted homosexual man.”