Scott, who is the only black GOP senator and is currently in the vetting process for a VP slot in a potential second Trump administration, will focus the outreach effort in key battleground states using localized events to make direct appeals with voters who might not typically consider the Republican Party. Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania will be spotlighted in the voter outreach drive. The effort, backed by Scott’s Great Opportunity PAC, is planning to spend more than $15 million for the project. “A lot of reasons why the shift is becoming just so blatantly obvious that it’s now undeniable that there is something amiss,” Scott said during a briefing this week with reporters in Washington, DC. “It’s not just racial, but it’s going to manifest itself in a racial shift that we haven’t seen in probably three decades of politics.” Scott added, “What we haven’t had before was a recent president on the right versus the current president on the left. And that translates into a lot of ticked off people who are looking at the Republican Party.” An unnamed individual familiar with the planning told CNN the goal is to begin as soon as possible. The outreach effort comes as President Joe Biden’s polling numbers with black voters continue to worsen. In 2020, 89 percent of black voters aged 18-29 voted for Biden. A recent survey from GenForward shows that only 33 percent would support him if the election were held today. The outreach plan will not resemble a traditional campaign with field offices and a big staff, but will involve voter contact programs, leveraging data analytics, and paid media. Though the effort is ambitious, some Republicans are not convinced it will be effective. “It’s one thing to make appeals, but it has to be backed by substance and prolonged and continued engagement throughout the election,” said Shermichael Singleton, a Republican strategist who worked on presidential campaigns for Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson. “The aims here are great, but the lack of details gives me pause.”South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott is spearheading a new effort to bring black and non-white voters into the Republican Party ahead of the November elections.
