Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota said he won’t commit to backing the GOP presidential nominee if it is not Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina.
Mr. Rounds, who endorsed Mr. Scott, said he is waiting to see how the 2024 primary plays out.
“Well, right now, I’m hoping it’s going to be Tim Scott,” he told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “And if it’s not, then I’m going to have to reassess, because I’ve always supported the Republican nominee in the past.”
“I hope Tim is the nominee,” he said. “There are going to be some other good people, as well, but I’m going to hold that back until we find out how Tim does.”
Mr. Rounds downplayed the idea that his reluctance to commit to any GOP nominee is tied to former President Donald Trump’s legal issues.
“Not so much that — I just simply think that there are some very good Republican [candidates] out there,” he said.
Mr. Rounds has criticized Mr. Trump’s comments on the 2020 election and chastised the ex-president for calling Jan. 6, 2021, a “beautiful day” during a CNN town hall.
“The vast majority of us that were here on January 6 would clearly disagree with the approach that he has in that regard,” Mr. Rounds said, referring to the attack on the U.S. Capitol. “So there are some things that we agreed with, but there are a number of areas where we would have disagreements.”
South Dakota’s other senator — John Thune — also is backing Mr. Scott, a well-liked member of the Republican conference.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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