(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) After proposing on Kiawah Island, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., announced his engagement to his now-fiancée, interior designer Mindy Noce, in a Twitter post on Sunday.
The announcement leaves fellow South Carolina GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham, 68, as the chamber’s most eligible bachelor.
She said YES.
Mindy, thank you for making me the luckiest man in the world.
“He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord” – Proverbs 18:22 pic.twitter.com/FhspUVmSkY
— Tim Scott (@votetimscott) January 22, 2024
“She said YES. Mindy, thank you for making me the luckiest man in the world,” Scott wrote, before quoting the book of Proverbs. “‘He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord’ – Proverbs 18:22.”
Scott, 58, previously described Noce, 47, as “a lovely Christian girl,” and mother of three whom he met through a friend at his church.
Many people responded with congratulations and well-wishes for the couple, but some speculated that Scott, who endorsed former President Donald Trump on Friday, may be attempting to position himself as a more viable candidate for the vice presidency.
“Congrats! Getting your resume ready for the VP pick, I see!” said Twitter user Kris Singh.
Congrats! Getting your resume ready for the VP pick, I see!
— Kris Singh (@ksingh1414) January 22, 2024
Scott’s endorsement of the GOP frontrunner over his former political ally and fellow South Carolinian, ex- Gov. Nikki Haley, notched a big win for the Trump team ahead of the South Carolina GOP primary, which will take place on Feb. 24.
He was one of several major endorsements Trump collected over the weekend while campaigning in New Hampshire, where the race is now down to just Trump and Haley, his former United Nations ambassador.
On Saturday, South Carolina’s current governor, Henry McMaster, joined Trump onstage, along with a slew of other statewide leaders from the Palmetto State in what was sure to be a psychological blow for Haley ahead of Tuesday’s contest.
On Sunday, second-place Iowa finisher Ron DeSantis, the popular Florida governor, dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump.
New York Rep. Elise Stefanik and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, who also recently exited the race, have also joined him in New Hampshire as both, like Scott, vie for his favor in the vice-presidential sweepstakes, which Trump claims has already been largely decided.
Scott, the longest-serving black lawmaker currently in the U.S. senate and only one who is Republican, was first appointed to the spot by Haley in 2012 after Sen. Jim DeMint retired to become president of the Heritage Foundation.
He failed to get the sort of traction he’d hoped for in his own presidential run last year, suspending his campaign in a surprise November announcement.
The decision followed shortly after several of Scott’s donors threatened to suspend their funding due to his perceived single status, although Scott had insisted he was dating.
To quell pernicious rumors about his sexuality, he brought Noce onstage following one of the GOP primary debates.
After GOP donors threatened to stop funding him for being unmarried, Tim Scott is now appearing publicly with who he says is his girlfriend named Mindy. He says they have been dating for “about a year or so.”
pic.twitter.com/oJviNR3u3e— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) November 9, 2023
He claimed they had been dating for “about a year or so” at that point.
Scott dropped out of the presidential race shortly three days after introducing Noce.
Some on Twitter continued to accuse Scott of being gay, in spite of his engagement announcement.
“Tim the campaign is over you don’t have to pretend to be straight anymore my friend!” one user said.
Tim the campaign is over you don't have to pretend to be straight anymore my friend!
— Whispy (@whispyws) January 22, 2024
“Congrats, Tim! We all thought you were gay!” said user Alex Cole.
Congrats, Tim! We all thought you were gay!
— Alex Cole (@acnewsitics) January 22, 2024
Some also questioned Noce’s past, as court documents discovered by the Daily Mail revealed that she and her ex-husband, Peter “Jay” Noce previously hid her assets to avoid liability over a tech deal gone wrong.
