Sen. Tim Scott's presidential campaign, once seen as emerging force, has faltered in recent weeks. Scott has sought to offer an optimistic message to voters, but Trump remains on top in the GOP race. The rise of fellow South Carolinian Nikki Haley has also complicated Scott's path to the nomination. Over the course of Scott's campaign, his campaign has so far focused heavily on winning the Iowa caucuses, and during the summer he was seemingly clipping at Florida Gov. A leading Scott backer, who spoke to Politico anonymously, remarked that the senator's campaign team "fundamentally miscalculated what it means to run for president and generate news coverage."

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Persons: Sen, Tim Scott's, Scott, Trump, Nikki Haley, —, Tim Scott, Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Texas Sen, John Cornyn, Scott's, Politico, Reagan, Cornyn, Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, they've, Hawkeye, DeSantis, Nathan Brand Organizations: GOP, South, Service, Main Street Republicans, Florida Gov, Trump, South Carolina Gov, Politico, Senate, Hawkeye State, Republican National Committee Locations: South Carolina, Iowa, Texas, New Hampshire, Miami