In his most direct comments yet, Sen. Tim Scott said he would vote to certify the 2024 election results after having avoided the topic in recent weeks.
“Well, certainly,” Scott, R-S.C., said Sunday when he was asked in an interview with CNN anchor Dana Bash whether he would vote in favor of certifying. “We expect a fair and honest election, and as a result of that expectation, we will certify the election — and certify President Donald Trump as our 47th president.”
Scott, a top contender to be Trump’s running mate this year, recently dodged similar questions about accepting this year’s election results, including in an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" early this month.
"At the end of the day, the 47th president of the United States will be President Donald Trump,” he told moderator Kristen Welker, declining to answer several questions about accepting the outcome.
Even if Trump picks him as his vice presidential ticket mate, Scott will still be a sitting member of the Senate when Congress convenes to certify the 2024 election results. That could put him in the position of certifying his own election outcome in the Senate in January, win or lose.
Trump continues to falsely claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him. Several of his vice presidential contenders have waffled over whether the 2020 election was indeed stolen and over whether they will commit to accept this year's results.
Scott has acknowledged President Joe Biden's win in 2020 and voted to certify it. In a statement released on the morning of Jan. 6, 2021, he explained his vote to approve certain states' elector slates because "no justice, judge or fact finder has found evidence indicating the election results in those states should be overturned."
At the first Republican presidential primary debate last year in Milwaukee, Scott said former Vice President Mike Pence “absolutely” did the right thing by certifying the election results.
During his own campaign for president, Scott also disagreed with voters who claimed that the 2020 election was stolen.
“I do not believe the election was stolen. I do believe that states created a new system, mail-in ballots, that did not have signature verification,” Scott said at a campaign event in Davenport, Iowa, in June.
