As expected, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott cruised to victory Tuesday night, handily defeating his Democrat opponent, state Rep. Krystle Matthews.
The race was rated solid Republican and Scott’s comfortable lead throughout the campaign afforded him the opportunity to campaign across the country with other Republicans on the ballot.
Still, the Senate race was ranked as among the most expensive in the country, with the Republican raking in nearly $50 million compared to Matthews, who brought in slightly more than $136,000.
In 2019, Scott said this would be his last term as senator but that doesn’t mean his political future will end with it.
The massive fundraising haul—odd since the race was not competitive at all—has raised speculation about his ambitions.
“He’s just way outraising her, which is incredibly unusual, because typically people don’t donate to a candidate who really doesn’t have a contest,” said Sarah Bryner from OpenSecrets. “And so I think clearly he’s doing he’s planning to do something. Perhaps he’s hoping to make a presidential run in 2024.”
Back in February, Scott also seemed open to being on a ticket with former President Trump, who is expected to announce his candidacy this month.
"I think everybody wants to be on President Trump's bandwagon, without any question," he told Fox’s Maria Bartiromo. "One of the things I've said to the president is he gets to decide the future of our party and our country because he is still the loudest voice."
He added: "What I hope happens is that we rally around the principles that lead to our greatest success."