Rounds won’t support 2024 nominee unless it’s Tim Scott.

Sen. Mike Rounds Won’t Commit to Backing GOP Nominee in 2024

“Right now, I’m hoping it’s gonna be Tim Scott. And if it’s not, then I’m gonna have to reassess because I’ve always supported the Republican nominee in the past,” Rounds told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday. “There are going to be some other good people as well, but I’m gonna hold that back until we find out how Tim does.”

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) has expressed his support for Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) as the GOP nominee for the 2024 presidential election. However, he has not committed to backing any other candidate if Scott does not win the nomination.

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Rounds emphasized that he’s hopeful he can back the GOP nominee in 2024, but Scott is the candidate he knows he can back. Scott is currently running in sixth place in the GOP race, per the latest RealClearPolitics aggregate. He is also backed by Rounds’s colleague, Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD), the No. 2 Senate Republican.

“I think when people hear him speak, they’re going to hear that same ability to convince people that there really is a brighter time ahead for our country, and that he can bring people together. And that’s the reason why a lot of us are going to end up supporting Tim,” Rounds further explained.

Rounds likened Scott’s optimistic message to former President Ronald Reagan. He emphasized that it’s “really early right now” and contended that “Tim has got a real good shot at it.”

“We suspected that it would get crowded, but at the same time, there’s a weeding out process that gives the American people a chance to look at all the alternatives. A lot of us think that it’s time for somebody with a positive message,” he explained.

Rounds also opened up about the Fiscal Responsibility Act, the compromise measure to suspend the debt limit in exchange for spending growth reductions that President Joe Biden signed Saturday. He surmised that the reason so many Senate Republicans defected on the measure was because of the lack of defense spending in it. He voted in favor of the bill.

“Clearly, the concern we have is that under certain circumstances, defense would actually go down in terms of the funding at a time in which we’ve got major challenges, not only from Russia but from China as well,” Rounds said.

• Rounds hopes to back Sen. Tim Scott as the GOP nominee for the 2024 presidential election.
• He has not committed to backing any other candidate if Scott does not win the nomination.
• Scott is currently running in sixth place in the GOP race and is backed by Rounds’s colleague, Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD).
• Rounds likened Scott’s optimistic message to former President Ronald Reagan.
• Rounds voted in favor of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, but noted concerns about the lack of defense spending in the measure.

It remains to be seen who will win the GOP nomination for the 2024 presidential election, but Sen. Mike Rounds is hopeful that Sen. Tim Scott will be the candidate to bring a positive message and unite the country.