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In no setting is bachelorhood more of a liability than the presidential campaign trail. Only two men, Grover Cleveland and James Buchanan, have ever clinched the White House without a wedding band. And given the concerns already swirling around 57-year-old Tim Scotts singlehood, the South Carolina senator is going to have a tough time becoming the third.

Much of these concerns, according to the Republican presidential hopeful, are being clandestinely fueled by his primary rivals. People plant stories that have conversations to distract from our rise in the polls, to distract from [the] size of our audience, Scott said during a visit to New Hampshire Thursday when confronted with a recent Axios report on GOP donors feeling skittish about his marital status. What weve seen is that poll after poll says that the voters dont care, but it seems like opponents do care, and so media coverage that opponents plantits okay. Good news is we just keep fighting the good fight.

While Scott did not specify which of his opponents he deems responsible for advancing the narrative, he may have been referring to a piece penned this week by Boston Globe columnist Rene Graham, titled, Tim Scott Has a Woman Problem. The column argued that Scotts bachelorhood is particularly damaging for a prospective Republican president, given the resilient homophobia on the right. Bachelor status is code for sexual identity, wrote Graham. And Republicans not keen on a candidate facing four criminal trials might be even more unlikely to support someone they might believe could be a closeted gay man.

Fellow South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham faced a similar predicament when he ran for president in 2016. A lifelong bachelor, Graham, 61 at the time of the 2016 election, was hounded by questions about his romantic life, and at least two late-night hosts made subtle jokes about his sexuality.

As for Scotts romantic life, he has been reluctant to reveal many details at all. But when he first launched his campaign in May, he did confess to actively dating. Theres always time for a great relationship with a wonderful woman, and I thank God that that is happening, he told NBC News.

A two-term senator, Scott has also tried to reframe the liability as a selling point for voters, telling Axios that, if elected, he would likely have more time, more energy, and more latitude to do the job than a married man. In the same interview, he suggested that more and more Americans can relate to a midlife bachelor. The fact that half of Americas adult population is single for the first time, he said, to suggest that somehow being married or not married is going to be the determining factor on whether or not youre a good president or notit sounds like were living in 1963, not 2023. (The actual number of single adults in the US is closer to 30%, according to Pew Research.)

Fair or not, Scott parried questions about his romantic life by proudly declaring himself a 30-year-old virgin early in his political career. He also advocated for sexual abstinence until marriage, a position he held as recently as 2012. At the end of the day, the Bible is very clear: abstinence until marriage. Not to do so is a sin, he told National Journal at the time; although in the same interview, he hinted that he may have failed to remain chaste. When the then 46-year-old was asked if he was still adhering to the same virtues that he had at 30, he said, Yeah, not as well as I did back then. Youre better off to wait. I just wish we all had more patience.

The topic came up again shortly after Scott announced his 2024 presidential bid, when Washington Post journalist Ben Terriswho wrote the National Journal pieceasked the candidate whether he was still a virgin. Im not talking about my sex life with Ben Terris, Scott demurred, before using a timeless excuse to escape any awkward question. I have to go potty.

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Tim Scott Claims That Republican Hopefuls Are Feasting on His ... - Vanity Fair