DES MOINES, Iowa (CN) — The large crowd that showed up to hear South Carolina Senator Tim Scott speak at the Iowa State Fair Tuesday about his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination indicated that Iowans are still kicking candidates’ tires five months ahead of Iowa’s first-in-the nation Republican caucuses.
Scott drew loud applause from the audience for his support of local police and for saying he’d display more backbone than President Joe Biden has in dealing with China. The 57-year-old — a product of what he describes as a “poor, single-parent childhood” — stands out in the field of GOP hopefuls despite comparatively low poll numbers. (He came in at just 2% as of Tuesday’s FiveThirtyEight’s polling average, trailing leaders Donald Trump at 53% and Ron DeSantis at 15%.)
Scott's appearance Tuesday was one of a series of Governor Kim Reynolds’ “Fair Side Chats” with GOP presidential candidates.
She asked Scott how he would address crime in America.
“Well, number one, start respecting the police,” Scott said. “The Democrats have been defunding and demoralizing the police. One out of every five law enforcement positions in America remains open today. We could close that gap by respecting the police. But instead of defunding them, let’s re-fund the police.”
On competition between the U.S. and China, Scott said he would be more aggressive.
“It is not the strength of President Xi [Jinping]. It’s the weakness of President Biden,” Scott said. “We need a president who will stand face-to-face, toe to toe, with President Xi and say, ‘Not on my watch, not in my country.’ I am that president.”
In conversations with fairgoers ahead of Scott’s speech, several Republican voters told Courthouse News they are looking for a strong conservative who will put the nation back on track after what they consider to be Biden administration missteps.
“He’s definitely saying Joe Biden is going the wrong way,” David Gonnerman, 61, of West Des Moines said in an interview with Courthouse News. That includes border security, and energy independence.
“It’s ludicrous to depend on our enemies for energy,” Gonnerman said.
In his chat with the Iowa governor, Scott ticked off oft-heard GOP talking points, including border security (finish the wall), energy independence (essential to national security), tax cuts (that benefit the middle class and working poor), and policies focused on boosting the private sector rather than government.
Offering a quality education for all children is a high priority for Scott, who in his campaign biography says he was able to get his own education back on track with the help of his mother and a mentor after failing four high school classes. He ultimately succeeded academically and graduated from Charleston Southern University.
As a member of Congress, where he served in the House for one term and the Senate since 2013, Scott co-chairs the School Choice Caucus, and he is a strong supporter of school choice.
“I believe in public schools. I also believe in competition. So I want competition to improve our public schools," Scott said. "I don’t care whether it’s a public school, a private school, charter school, a virtual school or a home school. Give parents a choice and their kids get a better chance.”
Kent Johnson, 68, of Ankeny, Iowa, told Courthouse News Tuesday he has not committed to any of the Republican candidates. He voted for Trump four years ago but has since “moved away from him,” and he made a specific effort to show up for Scott’s appearance Tuesday.
Johnson said Scott “piqued my interest,” in part because of his background, and as an athlete, and because is “well-spoken.”
“And, obviously, he’s conservative.”
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