Tim Scott's standing on the rise among GOP voters, poll finds

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott is getting the attention of Republican primary voters.

He gets support from just 3% of Republicans as their first choice in the GOP presidential primary, according to the latest national NBC News poll. But that's just part of the picture: The number of GOP voters who see Scott as their second-choice candidate has risen sharply — more than any other Republican candidate polled by NBC News from April to June.

In June, 12% of those polled said the same, a 9-point increase over the 3% who said so in April.

Scott is still trailing four other candidates — former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence and former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley — among voters selecting their first choice candidate in a Republican primary. His 3% first-choice number is the same as it was in April.

But beyond Scott’s position on the GOP primary ballot, the South Carolina senator enjoys one of the best favorable-unfavorable ratings among Republican primary voters, according to the poll.

Forty-six percent of GOP primary voters view him positively, versus just six percent who see him in a negative light. That net-positive rating (+36) is behind only DeSantis (+43) and Trump (+42) in the GOP field.

But there are still plenty of Republican primary voters unfamiliar with Scott.

Thirty-four percent of GOP voters still do not know enough about him to say whether they have a positive of negative image of him.

Only Haley has a higher "do not know enough" rating among Republican primary voters of GOP candidates.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSiPhone Duo review: The good, bad and the buggy

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAnger over rising prices could be decisive in Alaska’s unusually close Senate race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDOJ weighs election litigation against more states

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP Senate hopeful Ashley Hinson balances standing by Trump and standing up to him in Iowa

FOR SUBSCRIBERSInside the reopened U.S. Embassy in Caracas

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAIPAC shifts tactics amid voter frustration with Israel

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe viral attack ad featuring an estranged mother

FOR SUBSCRIBERSU.S. troops and diplomats evacuating Middle East posts, sources say

FOR SUBSCRIBERSBogus trans youth brochure rattles Texas voters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSWho knew a basket could be sexy? How ‘Wicker’ became fall’s surprise must-see

FOR SUBSCRIBERSExperts explain how an AI kill switch could work

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCalifornia’s billionaire tax faces a mountain of opposition — and not just from the rich

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump keeps promising ‘goodies’ on the campaign trail — but only if Republicans win

FOR SUBSCRIBERSPolice records reveal tensions between Cornell investigators and DA years before Jane Doe case

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe U.S. fertility rate has hit another record low, CDC finds. Is that good or bad?

Slide 1 of 1

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSiPhone Duo review: The good, bad and the buggy

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAnger over rising prices could be decisive in Alaska’s unusually close Senate race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDOJ weighs election litigation against more states

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP Senate hopeful Ashley Hinson balances standing by Trump and standing up to him in Iowa

FOR SUBSCRIBERSInside the reopened U.S. Embassy in Caracas

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAIPAC shifts tactics amid voter frustration with Israel

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe viral attack ad featuring an estranged mother

FOR SUBSCRIBERSU.S. troops and diplomats evacuating Middle East posts, sources say

FOR SUBSCRIBERSBogus trans youth brochure rattles Texas voters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSWho knew a basket could be sexy? How ‘Wicker’ became fall’s surprise must-see

FOR SUBSCRIBERSExperts explain how an AI kill switch could work

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCalifornia’s billionaire tax faces a mountain of opposition — and not just from the rich

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump keeps promising ‘goodies’ on the campaign trail — but only if Republicans win

FOR SUBSCRIBERSPolice records reveal tensions between Cornell investigators and DA years before Jane Doe case

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe U.S. fertility rate has hit another record low, CDC finds. Is that good or bad?

Slide 1 of 1

Scott's rising personal numbers come as his political operation is spending to get the word out to voters.

His campaign has spent $2.4 million on TV ads so far this year, while the super PAC backing him — Trust in the Mission PAC — has already spent $2 million so far this year.

Scott's campaign has also already booked over $3 million worth of ad time in the future, more than any other candidate.

Other GOP candidates polling below Trump and DeSantis, like Haley and Pence, haven't come close to Scott in spending.