“你觉得自己不太好，不适合做需要完成的工作吗?”
自从70岁的乔埃拉·杜普利第一次听到这个消息，她就一直在想这个问题共和党总统候选人蒂姆·斯科特南卡罗来纳州的初级参议员，今年夏天早些时候说。
上周四，在爱荷华州昏昏欲睡的奥特姆瓦镇的一家酒店的市政厅拥挤的房间里，她终于有机会问了。
“我很感激人们认为我很好，”斯科特开玩笑回应道。“要离开我长大的一些街区，你必须很坚强...强硬很容易。我们没有问的问题是，特别是作为一个政党，“够难吗?”"
斯科特打赌选民想要一个不仅仅是强硬的总统。他的更阳光、更说教的风格——以及对避免曾帮助领跑者唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)一跃成为本党领袖的那种个人争斗的偏好——通常会吸引小部分观众。但尽管如此，人们还是看到他在这个拥挤的领域努力保持聚光灯。
在第一次共和党总统候选人辩论根据tracker的数据，8月份在密尔沃基，斯科特的演讲时间在台上的八名候选人中排名倒数第三由纽约时报:8分15秒。
有一次，在回答一个关于气候变化的问题时，他还没来得及回答，时间铃就响了。“我是一个南方男孩——我说话很慢，”他在铃声再次响起前一笑置之。
当辩论中的其他候选人在台上寻求争吵或抨击以突出他们在政策和风格上的差异时——正如前副总统迈克·彭斯将对手维韦克·拉马斯瓦米称为“新秀”——斯科特拒绝继续攻击。
他的竞选团队后来告诉美国广播公司新闻，他们对他的表现“非常满意”，美国观众会感谢斯科特不参与“幼稚”的争吵。
2023年8月23日，在密尔沃基举行的Fiserv论坛上，共和党总统候选人蒂姆·斯科特在福克斯新闻主持的共和党初选第一场辩论中发表讲话。
Win Mcnamee/Getty Images，文件
爱荷华州的选民杜普利没有观看辩论，只是在事后从新闻中捕捉到一些片段。她告诉ABC新闻，“仅仅因为你很好并不意味着你不强壮。”
尽管如此，斯科特的表现似乎没有得到选民的认可:尽管同为南卡罗莱纳州人的妮基·黑利只比斯科特多说了大约30秒，但只有大约5%的受访者说他赢得了辩论，而15%的人说哈利赢了。根据538/益普索/华盛顿邮报的民意调查.
虽然斯科特在初选的前两个投票州爱荷华州和新罕布什尔州的一些调查中得分较高，经常获得第三或第四名，但到目前为止，他在全国民意调查中的平均得分仅为低个位数。根据五点三十八分.
相比之下，特朗普在全国的支持率约为54%，佛罗里达州州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯的支持率约为14%。
在辩论后的“政治和馅饼”活动中，斯科特承认，“遵守规则不会给你更多的时间，”他告诉观众。“所以，吸取教训了。现在，下一场辩论，我会记住这个教训，但我也会以同样的方式表现自己。”
不管一些报告斯科特可能会重新评估他的策略，对其他候选人变得更加咄咄逼人，他的竞选团队表示，他会坚持到底。
“蒂姆对辩论台上的其他候选人感到失望，他们不愿意倡导生命(反对堕胎)并与我们的盟友站在一起。竞选发言人内森·布兰德在一份声明中说:“当其他候选人正在进行一场食物大战时，蒂姆正专注于击败(乔·拜登总统)并捍卫我们国家的建国价值观。”。"蒂姆的信念继续在爱荷华州、新罕布什尔州和南卡罗来纳州的选民中引起共鸣."
尽管斯科特可能错过了辩论中的一个突破时刻，但他的团队并不需要兴风作浪来维持下去。根据财务文件，他们带着2100万美元的现金进入2023年第三季度，这是共和党候选人中第二多的。支持他的超级政治行动委员会——任务中的信任(或TIM ),宣布了一项4000万美元的广告购买计划，将于本月在爱荷华州、新罕布什尔州和南卡罗来纳州开始播出。
这种财务优势将使他有更多的时间来争取选民:“蒂姆有资源和信息在整个共和党初选中保持竞争力，”一位接近竞选活动的消息人士告诉ABC新闻。
作为目前在国会山工作的唯一有希望入主白宫的人，随着参议院秋季会议即将开始，斯科特在路上的时间有限。
但是，辩论两天后，斯科特开始了对新罕布什尔州、南卡罗来纳州和爱荷华州的访问。这是一个在提前投票的州进行一些非常必要的零售政治的机会，那里的居民习惯于近距离接触初选候选人。
他之前只去过新罕布什尔州几次。但在这个紫色摇摆州，说服选民改变政治立场是一个现实的可能性。零售政治很重要。
一名选民最近在罗比的乡村商店参加了他的竞选活动，她告诉美国广播公司新闻，她是一名民主党人，不相信乔·拜登总统能赢，但她想确保如果她必须投票给共和党人，那不是特朗普或德桑蒂斯。
斯科特在三个州的摇摆与一系列头条新闻重叠:特朗普在佐治亚州刑事案件中的面部照片被公布(他否认有不当行为);一名持枪者在佛罗里达杀死了三名黑人，官方称之为反黑人枪击事件;一场飓风袭击了他的家乡南卡罗来纳州。
同时参加竞选提供了一个练习回答记者和选民连珠炮似的问题的机会——直到最近斯科特还很少这样做。
斯科特的第二站是新罕布什尔州康科德的一家餐馆，在一次紧张的交流中，79岁的退休教师大卫·科菲问他，“如果你不对抗特朗普，你将如何对抗俄罗斯和中国的总统?”
斯科特开始说，“这很容易。如果你和领导者面对面地站在一起……”科菲打断道，“但你不会和一个你不接受的总统面对面站在一起。”
斯科特接着说，“你是想对话，还是想独白?我很乐意倾听。如果你想和我对话，那么在坐下来和科菲交谈之前，我也会说的。
他还在一张由三名年长选民组成的桌子前停下，他们询问了他的保险业务。其中一位，91岁的罗伯特·施罗德告诉美国广播公司，“我认为他打算帮助人们理解....努力工作孕育成功。”
斯科特乐观的信息帮助他进入国会，这是他向选民推销的一个关键部分——“委屈还是伟大”是他在5月份的竞选启动演讲中如何做出选择的。
他的党内唯一的黑人参议员，斯科特经常援引他自己的成功之路从贫困开始。“我们的党和我们的国家正站在一个选择的时刻:受害者或胜利，”他在五月说。
在他的家乡南卡罗来纳州，他很受欢迎，在2022年赢得了63%的连任。
上个月，在杰夫·邓肯(Jeff Duncan)在南卡罗来纳州安德森(Anderson)举办的“信仰与自由烧烤”(Faith and Freedom BBQ)筹款活动上，德桑蒂斯将担任主旨发言人，后来由于州长正在处理飓风伊达里亚(Idalia)的影响，他的妻子凯西(Casey)取代了他的位置，斯科特受到了满是穿着德桑蒂斯服饰的观众的起立鼓掌。很明显斯科特在家。
来自南卡罗来纳州Easley的Patrick Lollis并没有被斯科特的辩论表现所吓倒。他告诉ABC新闻，“做真实的自己是一种品质。”
洛里斯说，他希望德桑蒂斯和斯科特在同一张票上。至于谁应该得到哪个位置，他说不上来。
所谓的“副总统候选人”问题继续笼罩着斯科特的竞选活动。作为特朗普尚未攻击的唯一候选人之一，选民们想知道斯科特是否真的在竞选第二名。斯科特坚持认为并非如此。“第二名是第一个失败者，”他说。
斯科特在本月底前往加利福尼亚州参加第二次共和党辩论之前，还将在爱荷华州和新罕布什尔州停留几站。他的竞选团队在这两个州花费了高达1400万美元的广告购买费用，最近一次购买将持续到11月底。
但知名度和他面对面的魅力攻势会让他在民调中胜出吗?
对于科菲来说，斯科特让他想起了另一位年轻的参议员，他有一个成功的背景故事，尽管障碍重重，但他在国家政治中却不可思议地崛起了。
然而，虽然科菲认为斯科特拥有世界上所有的潜力，但他不确定斯科特是否能够挖掘出来。
科菲对记者说:“我认为他身上有奥巴马的影子。”他指的是这位前总统。“奥巴马不知从哪里冒出来，斯科特不知从哪里冒出来，他们都是美国参议员，他们都可以领导这个国家。他有能力这么做。他能打败那天晚上在舞台上的人吗?我觉得他不行。”
'Nice doesn't mean that you're not strong': On the trail as Tim Scott tries to woo voters
That was the question that had been on 70-year-old JoElla Duprey's mind since she first heardRepublican presidential candidate Tim Scott, South Carolina's junior senator, speak earlier this summer.
Last Thursday, in a crowded room in a town hall at a hotel in the sleepy town of Ottumwa, Iowa, she finally got the chance to ask.
"I appreciate people thinking I'm nice," Scott joked in response. "You have to be tough to get out of some of the neighborhoods where I grew up ... being tough is easy. The question we have not asked, especially as a party is, 'Is tough enough?'"
Scott is betting voters want a president who is more than just tough. Hissunnier, more preacherly style-- and penchant for avoiding the kinds of personal battles that helped catapult front-runner Donald Trump to the head of their party -- often charms small audiences. But it has nonetheless seen him struggle to hold the spotlight in a crowded field.
Atthe first Republican presidential debate, in Milwaukee in August, Scott had the third lowest amount of speaking time out of the eight candidates on stage, according to trackerby The New York Times: 8 minutes and 15 seconds.
At one point, while answering a question on climate change, the time bell went off before he was able to get out his answer. "I'm a Southern boy -- I talk slow," he laughed off before the bell dinged again.
As other candidates at the debate sought out onstage spats or threw jabs to highlight their differences in policy and style -- as when former Vice President Mike Pence labeled rival Vivek Ramaswamy a "rookie" -- Scott declined to go on the attack.
His campaign told ABC News afterward that they were "very happy" with how he did and that Americans watching would appreciate Scott staying out of "childish" bickering.
Duprey, the Iowa voter, didn't watch the debate, only catching snippets of it from the news afterwards. She told ABC News that "just because you're nice doesn't mean that you're not strong."
Still, Scott's performance seemed to miss the mark with voters: Although fellow South Carolinian Nikki Haley only spoke for some 30 seconds more than Scott, only about 5% of respondents said he won the debate while 15% said Haley did,according to a FiveThirtyEight/Ipsos/Washington Post poll.
And while Scott has scored better in some surveys of the first two voting states in the primary, Iowa and New Hampshire -- regularly earning third or fourth place -- he is in the low single digits in an average of national polls so far,according to FiveThirtyEight.
By comparison, Trump is at about 54% nationally and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is at about 14%.
At a "Politics and Pie" event after the debate, Scott acknowledged that "following the rules does not give you more time," he told the audience. "So, lesson learned. Now, the next debate, I'm going to remember that lesson, but I'm also going to comport myself in the same fashion."
Despitesome reportsthat Scott may be reassessing his strategy to become more aggressive with other candidates, his campaign says he's staying the course.
"Tim was disappointed by the other candidates on the debate stage and their unwillingness to advocate for life [by opposing abortion] and stand with our allies. While other candidates were engaged in a food fight, Tim was focused on beating [President Joe] Biden and defending the values our nation was founded on," campaign spokesman Nathan Brand said in a statement. "Tim's message of faith continues to resonate with voters across Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina."
Although Scott may have missed a breakout moment at the debate, his team did not need to make waves to stay afloat. They entered the third quarter of 2023 with $21 million cash on hand, according to financial filings -- the second most of any Republican candidate. And the super PAC that is backing him, Trust in the Mission (or TIM), announced a $40 million ad-buy that will begin airing this month in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
That financial advantage will allow him more time to try and win over voters: "Tim has the resources and message to be competitive through the entirety of the Republican primary," a source close to the campaign told ABC News.
As the only White House hopeful currently working on Capitol Hill, and as the Senate's fall session is about to begin, Scott's time on the road has been limited.
But, two days after the debate, Scott embarked on a tour of New Hampshire, South Carolina and Iowa. It was a chance to do some much needed retail politics in early voting states where residents are used to up-close-and-personal access to primary candidates.
He'd previously only been to New Hampshire a handful of times. But in this deeply purple swing state, convincing a voter to change political sides is a real possibility. Retail politics matter.
One voter who showed up to his recent campaign stop at Robie's Country Store told ABC News that she's a Democrat who doesn't believe President Joe Biden can win but she wants to make sure if she has to vote for a Republican that it's not for Trump or DeSantis.
Scott's three-state swing overlapped with a slew of headlines: Trump's mug shot in his Georgia criminal case was released (he denies wrongdoing); a gunman killed three in what authorities called an anti-Black shooting in Florida; and a hurricane touched his home state of South Carolina.
Being on the trail at the same time offered a chance to practice answering rapid-fire questions from reporters and voters -- something that up until recently Scott very rarely did.
In a tense exchange at Scott's second stop at a diner in Concord, New Hampshire, 79-year-old retired teacher David Coffey asked him, "If you don't stand up to Trump, how are you going to stand up to the president of Russia and China?"
Scott began to say, "It's very easy. If you stand toe to toe with the leaders that are..." before Coffey interrupted, "But you're not standing toe to toe with somebody who you don't accept as president."
Scott went on to say, "Do you want to have a conversation, or do you want to monologue? I'm happy to listen. If you want to have a dialogue, then I'll be speaking as well" before sitting down to speak with Coffey.
He also stopped at a table of three older voters who questioned him about his insurance business. One of them, 91-year-old Robert Schroeder, told ABC News, "I think he intends to help people understand .... Hard work is what breeds success."
Scott's optimistic message helped carry him to Congress and it's a key part of his pitch to voters -- "grievance or greatness" is how he put the choice in his campaign launch speech, in May.
His party's only Black senator, Scott has often invoked his own road to success from hardscrabble beginnings. "Our party and our nation are standing at a time for choosing: Victimhood or victory," he said in May.
In his home state of South Carolina, he is beloved, winning reelection back in 2022 by 63%.
At Jeff Duncan's "Faith and Freedom BBQ" fundraiser in Anderson, South Carolina, last month, where DeSantis was set to be the keynote speaker, later replaced by his wife Casey as the governor dealt with the effects of Hurricane Idalia, Scott received a standing ovation from an audience filled with people wearing DeSantis swag. It was clear -- Scott was home.
Patrick Lollis from Easley, South Carolina, wasn't deterred by Scott's debate performance. He told ABC News, "There's a certain quality in being who you are, in being genuine."
Lollis said he wanted both DeSantis and Scott on the same ticket. As to who should get which spot, he couldn't say.
So-called "veepstakes" questions continue to shadow the Scott campaign. As one of the only candidates Trump has yet to attack, voters wonder whether or not Scott is perhaps really running for the No. 2 slot. Not so, Scott insists. "Second place is a first loser," he has said.
Scott has several more stops in Iowa and New Hampshire before heading to the second GOP debate in California at the end of the month. His campaign has spent a whopping $14 million in ad-buys for both states, with the latest purchase running through the end of November.
But will name recognition and his face-to-face charm offensive boost him in the polls?
For Coffey, Scott reminds him of another junior senator armed with a winning back story who charted an improbable rise in national politics, despite the obstacles.
However, while Coffey thinks Scott has all of the potential in the world, he's not sure Scott will be able to tap into it.
"I think he's got Obama in him," Coffey told reporters, referring to the former president. "Obama came out of nowhere, Scott's coming out of nowhere, they're both United States senators and they both can lead this country. He's got the power to do that. Can he beat the people who were on the stage the other night? I don't think he can."
