Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) has won major praise from his Republican colleagues after he delivered the party's response to President Joe Biden's first address to a joint session of Congress.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell both lauded Scott's performance and suggested he could be the future of the GOP.
It may be more than three years before the next presidential election, but speculation about who the Republican candidate will be is already rife, with former President Donald Trump saying he's considering running again.
Scott could be facing an uphill battle if he decides to seek his party's nomination in 2024, however.
A spokesperson for Betfair, which operates the world's largest online betting exchange, told Newsweek on Friday that Scott's odds of winning the GOP nomination stand at 28/1 - that's an implied probability of 3.4 percent.
Scott's odds of winning the 2024 presidential election are even worse. Betfair gives the odds of him becoming president as 80/1. That's an implied probability of just 1.2 percent.
Political betting is illegal in the U.S. but remains popular in Europe and elsewhere.
The idea of a Scott presidential run is very new and largely due to the praise he's received this week. The senator has not yet indicated an interest in running for the White House.
"The part that made the most history tonight—this will be the first time the response has upstaged the president," McCarthy told Fox News' Sean Hannity on Wednesday following Scott's remarks.
"People are going to start talking tomorrow that Tim Scott should be running for president. Could you imagine him on the debate stage versus Joe Biden? It's not even close," he said.
McConnell also praised Scott in comments to Fox News' Martha MacCallum on Thursday.
"Well, look, we're looking to the future, not the past," McConnell said. "And if you want to see the future of the Republican Party, watch Tim Scott's response to President Biden last night. He's the future. That's where we're headed. We're not preoccupied with the past, but looking forward."
"He laid out what the Republican Party today and tomorrow is going to look like," McConnell went on.
"He's very popular, not only within our party, but among Senate Democrats, as well. He's brave, courageous, and tells the truth. And when you do that these days, a lot of people come after you. He's a courageous leader, the most inspirational leader we have in our party looking forward."
"We need policies and progress that brings us closer together. But three months in, the actions of the president and his party are pulling us further and further apart," Scott said in his response to Biden's address
"Hear me clearly: America is not a racist country. It's backwards to fight discrimination with different types of discrimination. And it's wrong to try to use our painful past to dishonestly shut down debates in the present," he said.
The next set of Republican presidential primaries will begin in the first quarter of 2024 and former President Trump remains the favored candidate among six in 10 Republicans, according to polling by Reuters and Ipsos earlier this month.
Newsweek has asked Senator Tim Scott for comment on this article.
Correction 4/30/21, 10 a.m. ET: This article was updated to correct the spelling of Martha MacCallum.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Darragh Roche is a U.S. News Reporter based in Limerick, Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. politics. He has ... Read more
