Scott Makes NH Swing After Less-Than-Stellar Debate Performace

By Michael Graham, NH Journal

Two days after a debate performance that failed to impress, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) was back in the Granite State Friday, meeting voters one-on-one and sharing his optimism.

Stopping at Robie’s Country Store in Hooksett, Scott told NHJournal the most important part of his debate performance was his closing statement.

“Anyone from anywhere in this nation can rise to a place where they have an opportunity to serve as the president of the United States. It speaks to the transformation that’s happening in our nation,” Scott said. “I’m very thankful to have a story that starts with a miserable beginning, but because we’re Americans, has a chance to shine through and lead at last, to becoming president of the United States.”

Merrimack GOP Chairwoman Alyssa Ehl speaks with GOP presidential candidate Sen. Tim Scott at Robie’s Country Store on Aug. 25, 2023.

Scott’s campaign also released a TV ad Friday targeting New Hampshire, focused on the chaos at the U.S.-Mexico border and its connection to fentanyl deaths and rising crime.

“Biden’s liberal policies aren’t compassionate, they’re tragic,” Scott says in the ad.

Scott was also asked about the debate during an interview with New Hampshire radio host Jack Heath earlier that morning. He called it a “food fight” that failed to advance the Republican agenda.

“Instead of talking about issues that are important to the American people… instead of having a conversation about the devastation of Bidenomics and the loss of $10,000 of spending power, I look over [the debate stage] and saw a show.”

“Good for the media, good for Joe Biden, bad for everyday Americans,” Scott added.

According to a press release, Scott’s visit is part of “his post-debate early state swing to New Hampshire, Iowa, and his home state of South Carolina.” Most political analysts see the Scott campaign focusing on Iowa, with its influential population of evangelicals and social conservatives, instead of the much more secular state of New Hampshire.

“Watch for Scott to play the evangelical card in Iowa — where it can work — and then try in New Hampshire — where it doesn’t,” said GOP strategist Pat Griffin. “Looks to me like Scott feels he can play the faith card in Iowa, skip New Hampshire, and then head home to South Carolina and try to win there.”

Scott is polling in third place in Iowa in the respected Des Moines Register poll, while he’s consistently been in fourth or fifth place in New Hampshire. Post-debate polling by Ipsos found just 38 percent of respondents rated his performance as “excellent or good,” far below the ratings for Nikki Haley (50 percent), Vivek Ramaswamy (55 percent) and Ron DeSantis (58 percent). And an unscientific survey of more than 200 NHJournal readers found his support before and after the debate fell from nine percent to three percent.

Voters at Robie’s, a local institution that first opened in 1822 and recently re-opened back under the family’s ownership, had positive comments about Scott and his campaign.

“Oh, I could vote for him. I think he’s a very personable individual, I like his demeanor,” one Hooksett Republican said.

Hooksett resident Don Winterton told NHJournal he was impressed by Scott, with whom he shared a brief conversation. Asked what he had to say to the candidate, Winterton replied, “Stay above the fray.”

Scott got a less warm welcome when he stopped at The Windmill diner in Concord. According to multiple media reports, Scott was asked about his refusal to stand up to Trump by David Coffey, a 79-year-old.

“You don’t stand up to Trump, how are you going to stand up to the president of Russia and China?” Coffey asked.

Scott insisted that he had in fact taken on Trump,

“I was one of the few people that actually stood up against those major issues whether it was Charlottesville or other major challenges he had. I’m the guy that stood up and talked about the disagreements that we had.”

Coffey told a reporter afterward that he didn’t hear what he wanted from Scott, “but he’s got a nice presence to him.”

But “nice” won’t cut it, says GOP strategist Michael Dennehy.

“First and foremost, Tim Scott needs a clear message which makes the case for why he is different than the other candidates. He got totally lost in the debate on Wednesday because there is no answer to the question, ‘Why Tim Scott?’ We don’t know why Tim Scott is running.

Once he determines the why, he needs to aggressively sell it. Spend more time meeting voters in the state,” Dennehy added.

“Finally, he has one more chance to make an impact in the debates. If he performs in September like he did on Wednesday then he will likely be taken off the consideration list for voters.

“If he doesn’t get in the game and put up some good numbers, he will quickly be sidelined for good.”

This story was originally published by the NH Journal, an online news publication dedicated to providing fair, unbiased reporting on, and analysis of, political news of interest to New Hampshire. For more stories from the NH Journal, visit NHJournal.com.