President – 3/15/23

Sen. Tim Scott:  Moving Toward Candidacy:  The Hill newspaper is reporting that South Carolina Senator Tim Scott is taking definitive steps to formally enter the Republican presidential campaign.  This is not surprising since Sen. Scott has been considered a potential national candidate for months.  It’s difficult, however, to see a victory path for the Palmetto State Senator, especially with former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley already in the field. 
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A Scott entry would presumably be helpful to Donald Trump, since the former President would be the beneficiary of a larger field, similar to the configuration that helped him win the 2016 nomination.  Such is likely the case because Trump has a large, loyal base within the Republican Party, enough to carry him to a plurality win.

New York:  Former Ex-Chairman Says Party Won’t Endorse:  The New York Republican Party last week reinstalled their former state chairman, Richard Nixon son-in-law Ed Cox, to again lead the organization.  The previous chairman, Nick Langworthy, was elected to Congress in November from the state’s 23rd District thus creating a vacancy in the chairman’s position. 

In a statement yesterday, Mr. Cox said that the state party would not issue an official endorsement in the presidential race in order to encourage all of the eventual GOP candidates to come to New York and compete for the state’s delegate base.  He said this policy is consistent with their 2016 practice, the last time the Republicans had an open race for the presidential nomination.  Mr. Cox previously chaired the state party organization from 2009 to 2019.