Tim Scott said Wednesday that he would love to see Trey Gowdy step into Lindsey Graham’s seat, publicly urging the former congressman to get into the Aug. 11 special election. Scott said he has been calling Gowdy multiple times a day, trying to persuade him to run.
The push matters now because the race to replace Graham is taking shape before the election date arrives, and Scott is one of the most visible South Carolina Republicans weighing in on who should carry the seat forward. He said Gowdy would be “an amazing senator for South Carolina,” and added that he cannot think of a better person to represent the heart of the state.
Gowdy is not a blank slate in South Carolina politics. He served in the House for eight years before retiring in 2019, then became a host on. Scott’s pitch leans on that record, including Gowdy’s profile from the House Select Committee on Benghazi in 2012, when he pressed Hillary Clinton over the 2012 terrorist attacks in Libya that killed four Americans.
But Scott also made clear why the recruitment effort has not moved the needle. Gowdy has been pretty clear that he is not looking for the job or asking for it, even as Scott keeps trying to get him interested. Scott went so far as to joke that Gowdy might not want the post because of the pay cut, a line that underscored how little appetite he has shown for the seat.
That leaves the contest in an unsettled place. Scott said Donald Trump’s enthusiasm around Russell Fry is no surprise, and Trump is expected to have a major role in choosing Graham’s successor. For now, though, the answer to the question Scott is pressing is the same one Gowdy has already given: he has not agreed to run.
