Sen. Tim Scott makes it official: He’s a Republican candidate for president

By MEG KINNARD
Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — 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.