Republican presidential candidates

Sen. Tim Scott joins a growing list of GOP presidential primary contenders and is the second from South Carolina.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Wednesday pledged to sign a federal ban on abortion but again did not set down a marker for what timeline such a proposal should encompass. Haley suggested during remarks in Manchester, New Hampshire, that passing one would be highly unlikely without significantly more Republicans in Congress. The former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said "no one has been honest" about how difficult a ban could be to achieve.

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott has launched his presidential campaign. At an event in his hometown of North Charleston on Monday, Scott offered an optimistic message he hopes can contrast the two figures who have used political combativeness to dominate the early GOP primary field: former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Scott is the Senate's only Black Republican. His team acknowledges the challenge but notes that the political environment can change, that Scott won reelection by a commanding 20 points in November and that he has more money to start his campaign than any presidential candidate in history.

South Carolina Republicans have selected Drew McKissick as their chairman for a fourth term at a convention where some of the party's 2024 presidential hopefuls made pitches to voters in the first-in-the-South primary state. McKissick has led the party since 2017 in a state where the GOP holds all statewide-elected positions, all but one U.S. House seat and control of both legislative chambers. He defeated three challengers. Among the 2024 GOP presidential contenders, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy addressed the convention, while former President Donald Trump, Sen. Tim Scott and a super PAC supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sent videos.

Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina made it official Friday: He's running for president. The Senate's only Black Republican has filed paperwork with the Federal Election Committee declaring his intention to seek his party's nomination. His candidacy will test whether a more optimistic vision of America's future can resonate with GOP voters who have elevated partisan brawlers in recent years. The deeply religious 57-year-old former insurance broker has made his grandfather's work in the cotton fields of the Deep South a bedrock of his political identity. Scott is scheduled to make a formal announcement on Monday in his hometown of North Charleston.

Sen. Tim Scott says he's nearly ready to reveal his decision on entering the 2024 presidential race. The South Carolina Republican said Sunday during a town hall in Charleston that he would make an announcement May 22. Scott has been inching ever closer to formally entering the GOP race, where he would join other announced candidates, including former President Donald Trump and Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor who appointed Scott to the Senate. Scott has created an exploratory committee and visited other early voting states. Scott has tried to present a more positive vision for the future than many of his potential GOP rivals.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley says she sees a federal role in the debate over abortion rights but stopped short of endorsing a national ban on the procedure. Haley's speech at the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America headquarters Tuesday came just days after the group blasted former President Donald Trump over his contention that abortion restrictions should be left up to individual states, not the federal government.

A second wave of Republican candidates is preparing to enter the presidential race later this spring following a monthslong lull as the GOP field finally takes shape. These potential candidates include former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Vice President Mike Pence and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina. They are hoping to emerge as the alternative to early front-runner Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

As the 2024 Republican field begins to take shape, the potential of a faceoff between Nikki Haley and Tim Scott is putting some of their mutual supporters in the critical early voting state of South Carolina in a conundrum as they weigh which candidate to support. The two have a long history: They worked alongside each other in the state House, and then-Gov. Haley appointed Scott to a Senate seat in 2012.

Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina says he'd support a federal ban on abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Scott was in New Hampshire on Thursday was meeting with GOP officials and pastors a day after announcing his exploratory committee for a 2024 presidential campaign. Republican candidates are under pressure from influential anti-abortion groups to support a national ban.