I said this in 2012 and 2016. Every Republican who leaves the primary early is a patriot. Too often, the politicians who reach this level of politics are motivated far too heavily by their egos. In 2008, Fred Thompson's path to the White House was wrecked by his first debate performance, but his refusal to step out until after South Carolina stopped fellow conservative firebrand Mike Huckabee from winning South Carolina and the Republican Nomination. That secured the nomination for moderate/liberal Republican John McCain and the fate of the Republican Party.

In 2012, Newt Gingrich did exactly the same thing as Fred Thompson. Newt Gingrich could have won the 2012 nomination, but he failed to do any serious campaigning. Quite literally, his phenomenal debate performances were all that kept him statistically relevant in the race. While the Republican faithful split their votes between Santorum and Gingrich, moderate Mitt Romney managed to buy the primary. As soon as Rick Santorum dropped out of the race, Newt Gingrich dropped out, too. It was an unfortunately petty end to an amazing career in politics for Newt Gingrich. At the time, I praised Rick Perry for dropping out of the race before the others. Rick Perry dropping out is why there was ever a chance for anyone to stop Mitt Romney from losing the 2012 election.

In 2016, everyone ran for President. Most of them dropped out after Iowa. However, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz were stuck competing to be the alternative to Donald Trump. Like Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum in 2012 and Mike Huckabee and Fred Thompson in 2008, Cruz and Rubio's mutual refusal to drop out before being mathematically eliminated ensured the nomination of Donald Trump and what will undoubtedly be 12 years of despair for conservatism.

In 2012, I called Rick Perry a Patriot for suspending his campaign. That honor is now owed to Tim Scott. Tim Scott is a fantastic Republican and I think he has a future in Presidential politics; whether as President or Vice President, maybe even this year.

Why Didn't Tim Scott 2024 Work?

Senator Scott is exceptionally optimistic. It's one of the many things I love about him. Unfortunately, the population of the United States is excessively angry and optimism is at best met with dismissal and at worst attacked viciously.

I also feel like Tim Scott has a little work to do in order to find his tone. There were several times during the debates and in his stump speeches on the trail that he went into Martin Luther King Jr. impersonation mode; which was fun, but it felt rehearsed and a little fake. Every once in a great while (maybe twice in the debates), he really hit his stride with it, but it was too little.

Tim Scott also suffered because he was a very balanced candidate. Tim Scott was very conservative, but wasn't the most conservative: that would be Mike Pence. Tim Scott was a hawk, but he wasn't the most hawkish: that would be Nikki Haley. Tim Scott is an unlikely and young candidate, but he wasn't the most unlikely or youngest: that would be Vivek Ramaswamy. He would be good for down ballot Republicans, but not the best: that would be Ron DeSantis. Unfortunately for Tim Scott, Republican primary voters are blind to the benefits of having a balanced candidate with appeal to other types of Republicans to unite the Party. I'm just as guilty of that as almost every other rank and file Republican voter.

Tim Scott's Future

That ability to unite Republicans is a tremendous asset for Tim Scott and it will likely define his future in the Republican Party. Assuming Donald Trump wins the Republican Party's nomination in 2024 and the election, he will be term limited if he wins and exceptionally old if he loses. For the past 8 years, the Republican Party has been transformed into a cult of personality around Donald Trump. When Trump is FINALLY irrelevant again, there will be a great battle for the soul of the Republican Party.

Will the Republican Party still be Christian-Conservative? Will the Republican Party be pro-Trade or Protectionist? Hawkish or Isolationist? Libertarian or Practical? The longer the cult of Trump continues to be dominant, the bigger this GOP Civil War will be. Whoever comes out on top of the 2028 Presidential Primary is going to need a running mate to reunite the GOP. Tim Scott should be considered a leading contender for that role. That gives him 5 years to figure out his tone and voice and make him a formidable Vice President to have on the ticket.

Tim Scott Didn't Hurt Himself

Importantly for Tim Scott, he didn't destroy his reputation while running for President. Scott stayed relatively positive and limited his attacks on everyone except Nikki Haley, and even that spat was relatively minor given that there is supposedly bad blood between the two (despite the fact that she gave Scott his Senate seat in the first place... sort of a Jeb Bush/Marco Rubio 2016 dynamic). Nobody is going to walk away from this election cycle feeling like they dislike Tim Scott more than they did before the Primary.

In that regard, Tim Scott's 2024 campaign can be considered a success. Even though he failed to win the nomination, he did raise his profile and name recognition. He'll be able to charge a bit more for speaking appearances and find it a little easier to raise money for his future Senate campaigns and PAC endeavors.

Whatever the future holds for Tim Scott, as long as he keeps away from any Trump-like behavior that would cause scandal or come out of the closet, he's going to be a popular figure in the Republican Party for years to come.