COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina made it official Friday: He's running for president.
Scott, the Senate's only Black Republican, filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission declaring his intention to seek his party's nomination in 2024. His candidacy will test whether a more optimistic vision of America's future can resonate with GOP voters who have elevated partisan brawlers in recent years.
The deeply religious 57-year-old former insurance broker has made his grandfather's work in the cotton fields of the Deep South a bedrock of his political identity. Yet he rejects the notion that racism remains a powerful force in society, and he has cast his candidacy and rise from generational poverty as the realization of a dream only possible in America.
Scott, who last month formed an exploratory committee allowing him to raise and spend money while weighing a White House campaign, has scheduled a formal announcement on Monday at Charleston Southern University, a private Baptist college and Scott's alma mater, in his hometown of North Charleston.
Scott has already scheduled TV ads to begin airing in the early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire early next week, the most significant advertising expenditure by a potential or declared candidate in the early stages of the 2024 nominating campaign.
Scott tries to focus on hopeful themes and avoid divisive language to distinguish himself from the grievance-based politics favored by those leading the GOP field, such as former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who hasn't yet entered the race but is expected to do so soon.
The senator refuses to frame his own life story around the country's racial inequities. He insists that those who disagree with his views on the issue are trying to "weaponize race to divide us," and that "the truth of my life disproves their lies."
During a February visit to Iowa, which holds the first GOP presidential caucuses, Scott spoke of a "new American sunrise" rooted in collaboration.
"I see a future where common sense has rebuilt common ground, where we've created real unity, not by compromising away our conservatism, but by winning converts to our conservatism," he said.
But Scott has his limits. During that same trip, he railed against political correctness in much the same fashion as Trump and DeSantis.
"If you wanted a blueprint to ruin America, you'd keep doing exactly what Joe Biden has let the far left do to our country for the past two years," he said. "Tell every white kid they're oppressors. Tell Black and brown kids their destiny is grievance, not greatness."
Scott speaks often about his hardscrabble roots. He was raised by a single mother who worked long hours as a nurse's assistant to provide for him and his brother after her divorce from their father. Scott, who describes himself as a lackluster student, graduated from Charleston Southern University with a political science degree before opening an insurance business.
Scott's faith is an integral part of his political and personal story. Describing himself as a "born-again believer," Scott often quotes Scripture at campaign events, weaving his reliance on spiritual guidance into his stump speech and using "Faith in America" to describe his series of political appearances before joining the race.
Information for this article was contributed by Thomas Beaumont of The Associated Press.
FILE - Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., holds a news conference after winning his Senate race against Democratic challenger Thomas A. Dixon at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center in North Charleston, S.C., Nov. 8, 2016. Scott has filed paperwork to enter the 2024 Republican presidential race. He'll be testing whether a more optimistic vision of Americas future can resonate with GOP voters who have elevated partisan brawlers in recent years. (AP Photo/Mic Smith, File)
FILE - Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., speaks in front of President Donald Trump and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., during a campaign rally, Friday, Feb. 28, 2020, in North Charleston, S.C. Scott has filed paperwork to enter the 2024 Republican presidential race. He'll be testing whether a more optimistic vision of Americas future can resonate with GOP voters who have elevated partisan brawlers in recent years.(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
FILE - Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., stops to look at the damage in the early morning hours of Jan. 7, 2021, after insurrectionists loyal to President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol in Washington. Scott has filed paperwork to enter the 2024 Republican presidential race. He'll be testing whether a more optimistic vision of Americas future can resonate with GOP voters who have elevated partisan brawlers in recent years. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
FILE - Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., speaks during a town hall, Monday, May 8, 2023, in Manchester, N.H. Scott has filed paperwork to enter the 2024 Republican presidential race. He'll be testing whether a more optimistic vision of Americas future can resonate with GOP voters who have elevated partisan brawlers in recent years. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
FILE - Vice President Joe Biden laughs with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., second from right, following a ceremonial swearing-in ceremony for Sen. Tim Scott, D-S.C., second from left, in the Old Senate Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 2, 2014. Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., is center. Scott has filed paperwork to enter the 2024 Republican presidential race. He'll be testing whether a more optimistic vision of Americas future can resonate with GOP voters who have elevated partisan brawlers in recent years. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
FILE - South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, center right, joins hands with Charleston Mayor Joseph Riley, left, and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., right, at a memorial service at Morris Brown AME Church for the people killed during a prayer meeting inside the historic black church in Charleston, S.C., June 18, 2015. Scott has filed paperwork to enter the 2024 Republican presidential race. He'll be testing whether a more optimistic vision of Americas future can resonate with GOP voters who have elevated partisan brawlers in recent years. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)