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Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., may not have the highest poll numbers, but he kicks off his presidential campaign flush with another precious campaign resource: money.
Scott is likely entering the 2024 race with more cash than his GOP rivals. The senator's federal campaign committee had $21.9 million in its account as of March 31, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election.
That far exceeds the other top GOP presidential hopefuls. Former President Donald Trump's campaign had $13.9 million in its account, while biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who has largely self-funded his campaign, had $9.4 million on hand. Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley's campaign had $4.1 million in its account.
It's not clear how much the campaigns currently have to spend, since fundraising reports that cover April through June are not due to the FEC until mid-July. But the most recent reports, which were filed last month, show Scott in a strong financial position.
Scott also stands out among other senators who have recently launched runs for president.
In the 2020 election cycle, seven senators made unsuccessful runs for the Democratic presidential nomination, and they launched their campaigns with funds ranging from $1.3 million (then-California Sen. Kamala Harris) to $11.1 million (Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders).
Four Republican senators — South Carolina's Lindsey Graham, Florida's Marco Rubio, Kentucky's Rand Paul and Texas' Ted Cruz —also ran unsuccessfully for president in 2016. Those senators had between $2.2 million (Graham) and $4.1 million (Rubio) in their presidential or Senate campaign accounts before launching their runs for the White House.
