Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Tim Scott (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)<br/><br/>(AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)<br/><br/>(AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)<br/>

Haley and DeSantis chase Tim Scott’s biggest advantage to boost stance against Trump

Julia Johnson November 21, 10:11 AM November 21, 10:12 AM Video Embed

Now that Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) is out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination, some of his valuable campaign assets are up for grabs, and former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) are after them.

Scott, a senator himself, boasted the endorsements of two other senators, making him the only candidate aside from former President Donald Trump with such influential and high-ranking seals of approval. Both Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD) and Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) endorsed their colleague early on in his campaign.

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The two men are not the most Trump-sympathetic and are unlikely to shift their support dramatically to the former president. This likely leaves these potential endorsers open to either Haley or DeSantis, and they could be a game changer.

“I assume there are going to be some other alternatives that emerge,” Thune told Punchbowl News. “Nikki Haley’s making a nice run right now. … She and DeSantis are going to be duking it out there to be the alternative to the former president. We’ll see where that lands. But I’m not prepared to say anything just yet.”

Rounds may not be as likely as his counterpart to endorse, though. The South Dakota Republican pointed to Trump’s enduring lead over his opponents. “If you’re spending a lot of money right now convincing people when they’re not ready to be convinced at this point, you’re better off to save your money, suspend your campaign, and then wait and see what happens,” he said.

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Trump now boasts 13 endorsements from senators, in addition to his other prominent endorsements from congressmen and governors alike.

While neither Haley nor DeSantis have a senatorial endorsement, the latter just received the historic support of Gov. Kim Reynolds (R-IA), which could provide him a boost in the first presidential nominating contest. Further, Gov. Chris Sununu’s (R-NH) seal of approval is also up for grabs. The New Hampshire governor has been vocal in his opposition to Trump and has campaigned with several candidates across his state. Both Reynolds and Sununu are incredibly popular in their respective states.

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