DES MOINES, Iowa — Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) appears to be winning over prospective Iowa Republican primary caucusgoers with his honesty.
Iowans have repeated the descriptor as Scott records high favorability ratings, but low levels of support before the other candidates, preoccupied with front-runners former President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), likely put pressure on him during this month’s debate.
DONALD TRUMP INDICTED: TIMELINE OF 2020 ELECTION INVESTIGATIONS
Before a DeSantis meet-and-greet event in Chariton, Brad Reese, 61, underscored his “respect” for Scott, citing his “honesty” and history of telling it like it is.
“He tells you what he believes in and that’s just how it is, and that’s refreshing,” the Chariton farmer told the Washington Examiner. “I’m tired of politicians that tell you what they think you want to hear and then get into office and don’t produce the results.”
“Honesty,” Chariton retiree Greg Carlton, 70, standing near Reese, said when asked for his thoughts regarding Scott.
“His honesty,” West Des Moines retiree Dennis Wilbur, 77, added later that day after a town hall for Scott in Ankeny. “He’s very knowledgeable, I felt, on all the subjects that came about. He just spoke very well on all the issues.”
Scott seems to have differentiated himself from the crowded primary field with a more hopeful, optimistic message, though he has been amplifying cultural issues more.
“We kneel to the father in prayer … and we stand for the flag in respect,” he said last week during the Iowa Republican Party’s Lincoln Dinner fundraiser. “If you’re able-bodied in America, you work. If you take out a loan, you pay it back. If you commit a violent crime, you go to jail. And if God made you a man, you play sports against men.”
Regardless, Republicans have expressed concerns about whether that will help or hinder him during the debate in Milwaukee on Aug. 23.
After the Scott Ankeny town hall, Rhonda Huegerich, 53, described liking the senator “better” than she expected.
“He actually drew me in more than I thought,” the Norwalk project manager said. “Partly his personality, partly his policies. Up until now, my impression was that he was going to be too positive and too soft for the administration that’s in right now because I really feel like whoever gets it next really needs to get in and clean house.”
“I wasn’t sure that he was going to do that, and he basically said he was going to do that,” she added. “I’m like, ‘All right.'”
Other potential caucusgoers prefaced their support of Scott by acknowledging his poor polling. In Iowa, Scott averages 7% of the vote compared to Trump’s 50% and DeSantis’s 17%, according to RealClearPolitics.
For John Bandstra, 67, Scott was “one of his favorites” because of his policies, but the Oskaloosa farmer said he understood that the senator probably “stands no chance.” Bandstra attributed his preference to Scott seeking to put “America first” and his “Christian values through politics.”
“A few years ago, I loved Ben Carson,” Bandstra said after a DeSantis meet and greet in Oskaloosa. “Tim Scott is the reincarnation of Ben Carson, except he’s more vocal.”
“Could you imagine a DeSantis-Scott ticket?” he asked. “That could be powerful. As they go along, I may see somebody and say, ‘You know what? I like them a little better.’ But right now, they’re at the top.”
Scott’s other “huge advantage,” per Bandstra, is his ability to broaden the Republican Party’s outreach to black voters as the GOP tries to undermine Democrats’ dominance with the demographic.
To that end, Scott reiterates that he is Democrats’ most feared Republican nominee for next year’s general election against President Joe Biden.
Democrat Charlie Comfort, 30, Oskaloosa’s at-large city councilor and school board vice president, who was intrigued by DeSantis, agreed, although he also included former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on the list.
“He’s kind of in the mold, in my opinion, of that traditional conservative,” Comfort said of Scott. “He’s not really associated with the former president much. It’s kind of his own guy. He’s a minority. He has some crossover appeal, potentially, that could make it difficult.”
Comfort, who criticized Biden for not encouraging another generation of Democratic leadership and for failing to forgive more student loan debt, conceded the president’s support is “soft.”
“We could be looking at a lot of Democrats that stay at home,” he said. “If you get someone like Tim Scott, who actually can unite the Republican Party, it could be interesting.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Previewing his strategy, Scott told reporters in Ankeny the debate will provide the public with an opportunity “to see all of us on that stage.”
“My hope is that I’ll be authentically myself and focus on making the best impact and impression I possibly can,” he said. “I’m going to focus more on what I have to do to achieve my outcome, which is proving to the American people that I am the best candidate to be the president of the United States.”
