The super PAC aligned with Tim Scott is canceling its massive ad blitz on behalf of the South Carolina senator\u2019s Republican presidential campaign.<\/p>\n
Trust In the Mission PAC, also known as \u2018TIM PAC,\u2019 outlined in a memo to donors that was obtained by Fox News on Monday that \u2018we aren\u2019t going to waste our money when the electorate isn\u2019t focused or ready\u2019 for an alternative to former President Donald Trump, the commanding frontrunner for the GOP nomination.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The group emphasized that instead of continuing to run ads, it will \u2018fully fund\u2019 its current grassroots and door-knocking program on behalf of Scott.<\/p>\n
But the move by TIM PAC to pull the plug on the $40 million it reserved to run ads in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina \u2013 three crucial early voting states in the GOP nominating calendar \u2013 is the latest warning sign for Scott. And it comes as the senator\u2019s poll numbers, and fundraising, have flatlined.<\/p>\n
\u2018We\u2019ll continue to do what we have been doing and spend more time on the ground,\u2019 Scott said in a Fox News Digital interview on Saturday in New Hampshire when asked how he\u2019d boost his standing in the 2024 Republican race with just three months to go until the first votes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Pointing to his campaign stops in Iowa, New Hampshire and his home state, Scott said, \u2018We\u2019ll continue to make our journeys\u2026 the more we do that, the better we\u2019ll be, and I\u2019m looking forward to being the nominee of our party.\u2019<\/p>\n
Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate and a rising star in the GOP, entered the presidential race in the spring on high notes and with his campaign coffers stocked with over $20 million left over from his overwhelming re-election last November.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Scott\u2019s poll numbers are edging down in the early voting states \u2013 and he stood at just 1% in the most recent Fox News national survey in the Republican race.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The senator\u2019s fundraising has also failed to ignite, and he spent more than he hauled in during the past three months.<\/p>\n
TIM PAC co-chair Rob Collins emphasized in the memo, \u2018We have done the research. We have studied the focus groups. We have been following Tim on the trail. This electorate is locked up and money spent on mass media isn\u2019t going to change minds until we get a lot closer to voting.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018Starting today, we are going to release all of our fall media inventory. We will continue to fully fund our grassroots door knocking, conduit fundraising, event hosting, and earned media efforts,\u2019 he announced.<\/p>\n
Collins noted, \u2018This summer we built up Tim\u2019s name identification, likability and brand. In July, we laid down a fall media reservation as a second phase to be prepared for the possibility of a coalesced field and the resulting protracted head-to-head election. The field remains splintered, so we will be patient.\u2019<\/p>\n
It\u2019s unclear how much of the $40 million television ad program the super PAC is canceling \u2013 although a person with knowledge of the plan said it\u2019s close to $15 million, adding that some spots in Iowa scheduled to run ahead of the Jan. 15 caucuses will remain.<\/p>\n
Scott\u2019s campaign, responding to the TIM PAC news, emphasized in a statement that \u2018from Day One, Tim\u2019s campaign was built for the long haul \u2013 powered by the most primary cash on hand and the highest candidate favorability of anyone in the field.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018On issues ranging from foreign policy to abortion, he has been the clearest and strongest voice, leading while others have followed. We\u2019re ready, as ever, to take our message into the early states and beyond,\u2019 the campaign highlighted.<\/p>\n