Nelsen comments on Sen. Scott’s rise in the polls

In an article appearing in the Tampa Bay Times, Furman University’s Brent Nelsen comments on GOP challengers to former President Donald Trump. According to polling data from early primary state Iowa, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is Trump’s nearest competitor, but Senator Tim Scott is not far behind. In South Carolina, Nikki Haley holds second place behind Trump, with DeSantis in third and Scott in fourth, according to a recent poll.

Nelsen said Scott’s popularity in South Carolina can be attributed to his positive nature. Yet, Scott attempts to mimic the hardline approach DeSantis takes. “At times (Scott is) trying to sound like DeSantis, like, ‘he’s really angry, too,’” said Nelsen, the Jane Fishburne Hipp Professor of Politics and International Affairs. “But it doesn’t seem to hit very hard, because he’s such a positive guy that it’s hard for him to sound like the combative, lib-owning politician that a lot of people in the base want.”