The senator from South Carolina is taking the next step. Tim Scott is set to launch a presidential exploratory committee today. This is the same day he will be in Iowa, the first state in the Republican nominating process. Tomorrow he will travel to New Hampshire and then return to South Carolina on Friday for his Faith in America Summit in Charleston that night and Saturday. That’s the kind of itinerary of someone running for president.

If you are looking for a happy conservative warrior who delivers Reaganesque speeches, look no further than Senator Scott. He delivers messages of hope and unity. I can’t say as this move is a surprise, given his name has been on the short list of potential Republican candidates for quite some time. He has taken trips to Iowa and New Hampshire to pave the way with primary voters. When he files to run, there will be two GOP candidates from South Carolina, himself and his good friend, Nikki Haley. When Ron DeSantis enters the primary, Florida will also be the home of two candidates.

He will be the first to create a formal committee for raising money to explore a presidential bid, though others have filed to be in the race.

The move acts as something of a soft launch for an all-but-certain Scott presidential campaign.

The exploratory committee allows Scott to raise money that could eventually be transferred to an official presidential campaign. In the meantime, it can also foot the bill for polling and cover costs for any travel Scott makes to key states as he weighs whether to make a candidacy official.

Other Republicans have taken the same path in past presidential contests, including Mitt Romney in 2012 and John McCain in 2008.

Ah, yes. President Romney and President McCain. I remember them.

Senator Scott’s happy warrior style will be , in contrast, to Trump’s fighting us vs them style. Scott is all about the Republican Party as the Opportunity Party.

“If you want to understand America, you need to start in Charleston; you need to understand and appreciate the devastation brought upon African Americans,” Scott said in February. “But if you stop at our original sin, you have not started the story of America because the story of America is not defined by our original sin. The story of America is defined by our redemption.”

It’s a little awkward for Scott, as it is for Haley, in a primary race as a challenger to Trump. Both said they would support Trump if he ran in 2024. Oops. Scott has already begun making key hires for his campaign. He has been making the traditional moves as he prepares to launch a campaign for the Republican nomination. His third book was published last summer and it was a political memoir that outlines his vision for America. He has made numerous national media appearances that keep his face and name in the public’s mind. And, as I said above, he has been traveling to states like Iowa and other early primary states. He hasn’t exactly made his intentions a secret.

At his November 2022 election night victory party, Scott winked at a potential White House bid when he reflected on the life of his grandfather, Artis Ware, who he said had gone from picking cotton to helping him pick his seat in Congress after his election to the House in 2010.

“My grandfather voted for the first man of color to be reelected as president of the United States,” Scott told the crowd after he was overwhelmingly reelected to a third term in the Senate. “I wish he lived long enough, long enough to see perhaps another man of color — and this time, vote for a Republican and not a Democrat.”

I like Tim Scott. I like a happy warrior. I don’t know how long he will last in the primary, though. At the age of 57, he has plenty of time to run later. I wonder if he will catch on more than Nikki Haley. That will be interesting to watch.