SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis formally announced his campaign for U.S. President this week.
Two South Dakota Republican federal lawmakers have already announced their support for a different candidate.
Sen. Mike Rounds and Sen. John Thune will support Tim Scott, a Republican senator from South Carolina.
“I’ve had the opportunity to work with Tim Scott for the last eight years. Tim is the real deal. I think he would be an excellent president of the United States.” Rounds said in a brief interview during an event at Ellsworth Air Force Base on May 24.
“I think he will appeal to a whole bunch of voters out there that our party has had a hard time reaching in previous elections if we can get him through the nominating process which is no easy feat,” Sen. John Thune said in an interview at an event near Hartford on May 25.
Both Rounds and Thune cited Scott’s personal story.
“…I know biographies don’t win presidential elections but if you look at his vision how he talks about it how he articulates it I think it is incredibly inspiring,” Thune said.
Rounds said that “morally,” Scott is the “right kind of guy.”
“He will build a team of conservatives who really have the right priorities for our country and th at is bringing our country together. That doesn’t matter you lose your train of thought with regard what’s right and what’s wrongs, what it means you do it in such a fashion and you share it such a fashion that rather than dividing our country you are bringing our country together,” Rounds said.
The Hill reported on May 21 that Thune would endorse Scott. Thune is the No. 2 Republican lawmaker in the Senate.
Rounds had already announced his endorsement of Scott’s bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, the Hill reported on May 18.
