Tim Scott-aligned super PAC pulls plug on ads as senator's 2024 GOP presidential campaign struggles
The super PAC aligned with Tim Scott is canceling its massive ad blitz on behalf of the South Carolina senator's Republican presidential campaign.
Trust In the Mission PAC, also known as "TIM PAC," outlined in a memo to donors that was obtained by Fox News on Monday that "we aren’t going to waste our money when the electorate isn’t focused or ready" for an alternative to former President Donald Trump, the commanding frontrunner for the GOP nomination.
The group emphasized that instead of continuing to run ads, it will "fully fund" its current grassroots and door-knocking program on behalf of Scott.
But the move by TIM PAC to pull the plug on the $40 million it reserved to run ads in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina – three crucial early voting states in the GOP nominating calendar – is the latest warning sign for Scott. And it comes as the senator's poll numbers, and fundraising, have flatlined.
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"We'll continue to do what we have been doing and spend more time on the ground," Scott said in a Fox News Digital interview on Saturday in New Hampshire when asked how he'd boost his standing in the 2024 Republican race with just three months to go until the first votes.
Pointing to his campaign stops in Iowa, New Hampshire and his home state, Scott said, "We'll continue to make our journeys… the more we do that, the better we'll be, and I'm looking forward to being the nominee of our party."
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Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate and a rising star in the GOP, entered the presidential race in the spring on high notes and with his campaign coffers stocked with over $20 million left over from his overwhelming re-election last November.
But Scott's poll numbers are edging down in the early voting states – and he stood at just 1% in the most recent Fox News national survey in the Republican race.
The senator's fundraising has also failed to ignite, and he spent more than he hauled in during the past three months.
TIM PAC co-chair Rob Collins emphasized in the memo, "We have done the research. We have studied the focus groups. We have been following Tim on the trail. This electorate is locked up and money spent on mass media isn’t going to change minds until we get a lot closer to voting."
"Starting today, we are going to release all of our fall media inventory. We will continue to fully fund our grassroots door knocking, conduit fundraising, event hosting, and earned media efforts," he announced.
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Collins noted, "This summer we built up Tim’s name identification, likability and brand. In July, we laid down a fall media reservation as a second phase to be prepared for the possibility of a coalesced field and the resulting protracted head-to-head election. The field remains splintered, so we will be patient."
It’s unclear how much of the $40 million television ad program the super PAC is canceling – although a person with knowledge of the plan said it's close to $15 million, adding that some spots in Iowa scheduled to run ahead of the Jan. 15 caucuses will remain.
Scott's campaign, responding to the TIM PAC news, emphasized in a statement that "from Day One, Tim’s campaign was built for the long haul – powered by the most primary cash on hand and the highest candidate favorability of anyone in the field."
"On issues ranging from foreign policy to abortion, he has been the clearest and strongest voice, leading while others have followed. We’re ready, as ever, to take our message into the early states and beyond," the campaign highlighted.