Tim Scott’s formidable charm meets a tough Republican electorate

Tim Scott posts some of the highest favorability ratings in the presidential primary field. He’s well liked by donors and the conservative media, and with Ron DeSantis sputtering, he appears to have an opening.

There’s just one problem: so far the GOP electorate ain’t buying it.

In interviews with a dozen strategists and pollsters, terms like “affable,”and “optimistic” came up repeatedly.

The description that did not come up often was “president.”

“I don’t think there’s anybody who doesn’t think he’s a nice guy,” Ryan Rhodes, a Republican strategist in Iowa, said of Scott. “But I don’t believe the primary electorate believes that we can just have somebody that’s going to get along with the other side in Washington.”

Scott’s failures to gain traction reveal that even the most accomplished and well-liked candidate entering at the right point in his career may not be enough. Sterling credentials don’t seem to be enough to take on the twice-indicted Donald Trump.