Tim Scott says Senate rival Krystle Matthews should apologize as others urge to drop bid

U.S. Sen. Tim Scott said Friday he doesn’t believe his Democratic rival should abandon her campaign days after audio surfaced of her making disparaging remarks about constituents.

“I think she should apologize for her comments. The Democrats should condemn her comments. Racial bigotry in any form should be criticized and condemned by all people,” Scott told The Sun News at a reelection kickoff rally in Myrtle Beach.

State Rep. Krystle Matthews, D-Berkeley, is under increasing pressure, even from members of her own party, to step down after the right-wing group Project Veritas released another video of recent comments.

“You ought to know who you’re dealing with. You’re got to treat them like s---. That’s the only way they’ll respect you,” Matthews says in the recording while speaking to an undercover reporter with the group, noting she lives in a mostly white town in a Republican-leaning district.

“The voters of this state should be aware of who she is and what she said and let them decide her fate,” Scott said.

His midday visit on Sept. 9 was the first leg of a three-stop trip around the state to launch his 2024 senate bid. He was also in Florence and Columbia.

Wearing a light blue golf shirt, Scott ignored the stage behind him during his 40-minute appearance at the Horry County GOP’s “victory office” along 19th Ave N.

“I love Myrtle Beach, I came here when I was kid year after year after year, I served as a Congress member here for a couple of years. This is where I got my congressional start. So you always come home,” Scott said.

Myrtle Beach rally goers loved him back. Several sought autographs on their copies of “America: A Redemption Story,” Scott’s recently published memoir. They also his name loudly, hoisting “Scott for Senate” placards above their heads as he spoke.

Scott didn’t address the Matthews controversy in his remarks to the crowd, but told The Sun News afterwards the bipartisan response to her comments made him “excited.”

Among those urging Matthews to quit the race is Democratic gubernatorial candidate Joe Cunningham, state House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford, D-Richland, and Annie Andrews, the Democratic nominee in the 1st Congressional District race.

“We live in a state where people on both sides of the aisle, when they hear something that is filled with hate, their response is to push back,” he said.

Scott, the only Black Republican in the U.S. Senate in a reliably red state, ran unopposed in this year’s primary and is among South Carolina’s most popular politicians.

His affability and personal touch was on display Friday, as the state’s junior senator leaned into a metal barricade where he posed for selfies and shook hands with supports as he criticized President Biden’s economic policies — a brand of retail politicking Scott has relied on throughout his political career.

A newly produced campaign video introduced him to the crowd of about 80, with GOP stars including U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, former vice president Mike Pence and former president Donald Trump saying “they’re with Tim.”

A May Winthrop University Poll showed Scott with an 89% approval rating among S.C. Republicans.

This story was originally published September 9, 2022 at 3:46 PM with the headline "Tim Scott says Senate rival Krystle Matthews should apologize as others urge to drop bid."