Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) has given a couple of interviews in recent days in which he talked about his status as an unmarried man while running for president, revealing in both that he has a girlfriend, while also declining to reveal too many details about her just yet.
The second interview, with The Washington Post, was published after Scott told Fox News over the weekend that he has a “wonderful girlfriend” who he described as a “smart Christian woman.”
Scott told the Post that he started dating the girl late last year after his friend from church set him up. The senator said he initially declined his friend’s setup attempt, but then changed his mind after the friend showed him a picture of the woman.
Scott would not give the Post her name, explaining that he does not want to drag “her onto the campaign unless I have the intention of marrying her.”
“I hope that happens, to be honest with you,” he added.
“I have been very protective of my family and my loved ones,” the senator said. “I signed up for this. If we make it, she will be signing up for it as well, but at least then she’ll know what she’s getting into. But until then, the only conversation I’m going to have about her in any form or fashion is right now.”
The Post made a point of noting that while it could not independently “verify that she exists,” and that multiple friends of his did allegedly not know anything about her, Scott’s campaign manager Jennifer DeCasper did confirm that she has personally hung out with the girlfriend at the zoo.
Scott told Fox News in his interview over the weekend that his unmarried status was garnering attention because opponents view him as a political threat as he “rise[s] in the polls.” National polling has largely showed Scott’s campaign hovering in the 2%-4% range in the last month.
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“The headlines are there because as I rise in the polls, as people show up at my my town halls, it scares even my opponents,” Scott claimed. “Everybody wants to find a way to win this race. I’m going to focus on having that optimistic positive message deliver the backbone and staying focused on the American people who say they like me a lot, and I want to make sure they have a chance to make me their president.”