Tim Scott for vice president

OPINION:

Former President Donald Trump should select Sen. Tim Scott, South Carolina Republican, as his running mate. Trump-Scott 2024 would be a juggernaut. Mr. Scott would serve Mr. Trump ably as vice president. He is well positioned to step in should Mr. Trump become sidelined.

Long before any of that, this duo must get elected. Here, Mr. Scott looks uniquely promising.

A May 15-16 Harvard-Harris survey of 1,660 registered voters discovered that, among seven potential choices for vice president, Mr. Scott is the only one who makes Americans more likely to back Mr. Trump, by 6 percentage points. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, with 0 points, does not move the needle. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum curbs enthusiasm for Mr. Trump by 6 points.

Mr. Scott’s broad appeal across the Palmetto State helps explain why he regularly outperforms other top statewide Republican contenders. In November 2014, Sen. Lindsay Graham was reelected with 54.3% of the vote. Nikki Haley scored a second term as governor with 55.9% of the ballots. Mr. Scott bested them both, with 61.1%.

In 2016, Mr. Trump won the White House, partially thanks to 54.9% of South Carolina’s vote. That same election night, Mr. Scott won 60.6%.

And in 2022, Gov. Henry McMaster earned four more years with 58%. That evening, Mr. Scott won six more years with a 62.9% victory.

While Mr. Scott was a low-key presidential candidate, he has been one of Mr. Trump’s best surrogates. He is upbeat, energetic, informative and persuasive. Those qualities will serve Mr. Trump well on the hustings, in Mr. Scott’s debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, and as his chief advocate as vice president.

Mr. Scott’s experience in the House and Senate, his work as ranking Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, and author of the opportunity zones and related tax cuts that he has sponsored or endorsed make him the right man to help Mr. Trump push the “make America great again” agenda through Congress.

While South Carolina’s nine electoral votes have not gone Democratic since 1976, Mr. Scott could attract far more electoral votes elsewhere.

The mere presence of Mr. Scott on the GOP ticket would consolidate the recent rightward shift of Black voters. They are marching toward Mr. Trump in stunning numbers.

CNN data analyst Harry Enten was visibly shocked on June 17 when he discussed an aggregate of network polls that captured Mr. Trump’s swelling share of the Black vote. At this point in 2020, Trump had 7% of the Black vote, before scoring 12% that November, according to exit surveys by Edison Research. Mr. Trump now has 21% support among Black voters — triple his position in June 2020. 

Meanwhile, excitement for President Biden among Black voters has vanished. Overall, he has plunged from 86% at this point in 2020 to 70% in 2024. With those over 50, he has slid from 83% to 74%. Support for Mr. Biden has collapsed among Blacks under 50, from 80% to 37%.

Mr. Scott would solidify and enhance the 20% or so of the Black vote that consistently has backed Mr. Trump in polls since last fall. Trump-Scott could secure 25% of the Black vote; 35% no longer seems beyond imagination. If that many Black Americans also vote GOP down-ballot, Republicans should keep the House and secure the Senate from Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer and the Biden Democrats.

Stylistically, Mr. Scott would be the cream in Mr. Trump’s coffee. While some people find the former president a tad hot and strong, Mr. Scott is relaxed and soothing. Stirred together, these two would make a fine blend and complement each other — as running mates and governing partners should.

Given his integrity, legislative experience, increasingly polished rhetorical skills and everything he will gain while riding shotgun to Mr. Trump, Mr. Scott will make a suitable successor to the 45th and 47th president of the United States. America’s future will be quite bright if, on Jan. 20, 2029, Mr. Donald Trump hands the keys to the White House to President-elect Tim Scott.

• Deroy Murdock is a Manhattan-based Fox News contributor.