Tim Scott is bringing back ‘Big Thursday,’ but don’t confuse it with USC vs. Clemson

South Carolina’s Jeff Duncan has an annual barbecue, and Jim Clyburn hosts his yearly fish fry.

Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst has her Roast and Ride.

Now, Sen. Tim Scott is launching an annual marquee event of his own.

Ten days before Scott turns 57, he will kick off his inaugural “Big Thursday” at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9 in Columbia at Williams-Brice Stadium, home of the University of South Carolina Gamecocks, with plans to make it an annual birthday tailgate event.

Naming the event “Big Thursday” is an homage to Clemson and the USC’s annual football game Thursdays during the fall state fair. The tradition ended in 1959 before the schools agreed to move the annual intrastate rivalry game to the end of the season.

As part of his inaugural tailgate, Scott has invited state lawmakers, statewide elected officials such as Gov. Henry McMaster and congressional candidates, including Russell Fry, who unseated Rep. Tom Rice, R-Myrtle Beach, this June to represent the 7th Congressional District.

Scott’s team says it plans the tailgate to become an iconic event similar to Duncan’s annual Faith and Freedom Barbecue in Anderson and Clyburn’s annual “World Famous Fish Fry.” Both events have played host to high-profile headliners and candidates looking to test their presidential chops in the first-in-the-South primary state. Whether Scott wants to attract speakers with national ambitions is not clear.

Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, is running for reelection in November in what he says will be his final Senate run. While he is seen as a potential 2024 presidential candidate, the North Charleston Republican has said he’s busy concentrating on his reelection campaign rather than running for the country’s highest office.

But that hasn’t stopped the speculation, as Scott has visited early-voting states important to the presidential nominating contest — Iowa and New Hampshire, for example — to stump for Republican candidates and help raise money.

Scott, one of the top fundraisers in the Senate, has so far raised $46 million this election cycle. He had $24.7 million left in the bank as of June’s end.

Scott plans Friday to donate more than $160,000 to candidates on the Republican ticket in this year’s elections. The donations will go through his Tomorrow is Meaningful political action committee, and will support candidates for statewide offices, Congress and S.C. House, according to his campaign.

The donation is an addition to the $200,000 Scott gave to the South Carolina Republican Party for its victory operation, which he announced earlier this year at the party’s annual Silver Elephant fundraiser.

“This November, voters will choose between the inflationary and inflammatory Biden policies embraced by liberals in Washington and conservative fighters who are standing up for the freedom and security of all Americans,” Scott said in a statement provided to The State newspaper. “That’s why I am working to make sure our entire Republican team has the resources to compete and win.”