What to know about Republican presidential candidate Tim Scott

This is part of a series on the 2024 presidential candidates.

Tim Scott was born on Sept. 19, 1965, in North Charleston, South Carolina.

He was raised by a single mom who he says worked 16-hour days to support him and enabled him to pave a path from working class-poverty to the U.S. Senate.

Scott worked in insurance and financial services after graduating from Charleston Southern University.

Through a mentor and his experience at South Carolina's Palmetto Boys State program, he was influenced to pursue public service.

Scott represented South Carolina's 1st congressional district in the House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013.

He was the first black Republican in Congress since 2003 when he was first elected in November 2010.

While campaigning, Scott declined joining the Congressional Black Caucus saying, "my campaign was never about race."

As a freshman Tea Party representative, Scott said that Congress needed to focus on cutting spending, including in the military.

He was the first Black Republican in Congress since 2003 when he was elected first in 2010.

Scott's signature legislation creating "opportunity zones" was passed as part of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act under Trump.

In the wake of George Floyd's death, Scott went before Congress giving a speech on his own racial experiences.

Long seen as a rising star in the GOP, Scott delivered the Republican Party's rebuttal to President Joe Biden's inaugural joint address to Congress in 2021.