CNN
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South Carolina’s Nikki Haley and Tim Scott and other presidential candidates will speak Saturday at a Christian conservative forum and lay out their visions for 2024 as they focus on the White House and intend to present their case to a key voting bloc early on to vote state.
Hosted by the Palmetto Family Council, the forum offers speakers the opportunity to share their positions on issues and engage with conservative voters. But even as Palmetto’s former Gov. Haley and the state’s junior Sen. Scott look to win over their fellow South Carolinians, the two Republicans who have dominated the race so far are conspicuously absent: Former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Trump. Ron DeSantis.
Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Haley is the first Republican to challenge her former boss for the Republican presidential nomination.she started her campaign In Charleston last month, he called for a new generation of leadership, and recently addressed a packed crowd in Myrtle Beach. She has sought to differentiate herself through her foreign policy experience and has focused her campaign on calls for congressional term limits, greater border security, fiscal responsibility and increased domestic energy production.
As for Scott, the forum is the latest sign that the Republican senator is testing the waters for a 2024 race. While he dodged questions about whether he intends to run for president, Scott has been laying the groundwork for his campaign, taking his “America’s Faith” “listening tour” to key voting states Iowa and South Carolina state.
Scott is expected to speak on several topics in the roughly 25 minutes allotted to him, according to a person familiar with the matter. The Republican senator will talk about his faith, the role it played in shaping him as an elected official, and how he sees the direction of the country, including sharp criticism of Joe Biden’s presidential agenda, but in terms of redemption and “a better future ahead.” Good” message is over, the source told CNN.
Justin Hall, director of communications for the Palmetto Family Council, said speakers were free to use the time allotted to them—either to deliver a speech, take questions from the audience, or both.
Hayley and Scott have long been friends and political allies. Haley, 2012 appoint scott To the seat left vacant by Senator Jim DeMint, saying Scott “won the seat” from his personality and record.But Scott allegedly declined to endorse Haley after she announced her run for president postman, suggesting he could run for president himself. The pair also joined other potential Republican candidates at a donor retreat in Palm Beach earlier this month for the growth club, an anti-tax group.
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who has been considering running for president, will also speak at the forum. Another possible 2024 candidate, former Vice President Mike Pence, was invited, but he was speaking at a foreign policy group meeting in Iowa that day. Other potential candidates who have also been invited but do not plan to attend include former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu and South Dakota Gov. Kirstin Noam.
Much of the conversation in early 2024 revolves around Trump and DeSantis, who has yet to become a formal candidate. Both have been invited to the Palmetto Family Council forum, but neither is expected to attend, according to Hall.
Trump and DeSantis lead A recent CNN poll Republicans and Republican-leaning independents are most likely to support the 2024 Republican nomination. Hayley trailed both at 6 percent, while Scott was at 2 percent.
South Carolina was key to Trump’s 2016 political rise. He won the Republican primary there, cementing his lead in a closely contested Republican district.Trump made this country one of his first stops He appeared on the campaign trail for the first time since announcing his re-election bid in January.
Meanwhile, DeSantis intends to wait until after Florida’s legislative session to decide whether to run for president. His national book tour has stopped in Iowa and Nevada, but he has yet to visit South Carolina.
The forum is less than a year away from the crucial South Carolina Republican primary. Since 1980, with the exception of 2012, Republican voters in the state have elected the eventual Republican nominee in nearly every cycle.
“We believe that the road to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue goes right through Palmetto State,” Hall told CNN, adding that the forum “could certainly advance the campaign in South Carolina.”