Who says that politics isn’t romantic?
Sen. Tim Scott on Wednesday finally debuted his girlfriend, bringing her onstage after the GOP primary debate in Miami to pose for a photo.
At first, it wasn’t quite clear who she was. While cameras were trained on the two, the couple held hands, sparking immediate questions online about whether the blonde next to him was the senator’s oft-discussed, but never seen, partner.
A campaign official would only confirm that the woman on stage was indeed Scott’s girlfriend and her name is “Mindy.” Online sleuthing points to the person as being Mindy Noce, a Charleston-area interior designer and mother of three.
After the debate, Scott, a 58-year old bachelor, confirmed that he had brought his girlfriend to the event, telling reporters that the two have been dating “about a year.”
Scott throughout the summer had teased the existence of a girlfriend after facing questions about his status as an unmarried man, though he declined to reveal her identity or bring her to campaign events. His single status seemed pronounced during the campaign as his rivals, like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley frequently referenced their spouses. Former President Donald Trump, the current frontrunner, has been married three times.
In September, Scott told a crowd in Iowa that he was dating “a lovely Christian girl,” but remained tight-lipped about when she would join him on the campaign trail.
Scott in an interview with his hometown newspaper once touted his status as a 30-year-old virgin, and has never married. In recent years, however, he signaled that he was less committed to abstinence before marriage.