Republican Senator Tim Scott says he has suspended his campaign for the U.S. presidency.

Mr Scott, a South Carolina Republican re-elected in 2022 for his second term in the Senate, had qualified for the Republican presidential debates to date, although his candidature never really took off with voters.

“When I go back to Iowa, it will not be as a presidential candidate.

“I think the voters, who are the most remarkable people on the planet, have been really clear that they’re telling me: not now,’’ he said in a Fox News Channel interview.

Mr Scott, 58, had recently pledged to focus his campaign on Iowa through the January caucuses.

Mr Scott’s announcement came in an interview with former South Carolina GOP Representative Trey Gowdy, who hosts a Sunday night programme.

Former President Donald Trump has been well ahead in the Republican primary field despite not participating in debates.

Mr Scott has generally trailed fellow South Carolina governor and former ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley.

The polling average compiled by FiveThirtyEight.com had Mr Scott running sixth in the GOP field nationally on Sunday, with 2.2 per cent compared with Ms Haley’s 8.7 per cent and Mr Trump’s 56.6 per cent.

The polling average in Iowa, where Mr Scott was counting on a more conservative Christian electorate, showed him in fourth with 7.3 per cent.

The Scott campaign had sent a fundraising email within the hour of what appeared to be a surprise announcement from the candidate about “one last chance.’’

Mr Scott, the ranking member on the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, formally jumped into the presidential contest in May.

There were no members of Congress from either chamber in the Republican primary field.

Representative Dean Phillips, a Minnesota Democrat, has launched a long-shot challenge for the Democratic nomination to President Joe Biden.

(dpa/NAN)