WASHINGTON • Republican U.S. Senator Tim Scott launched a presidential exploratory committee on Wednesday, taking a step toward challenging former President Donald Trump for the party’s nomination in 2024.

As the only Black Republican in the U.S. Senate, Scott has frequently cited his own experience as the impoverished child of a single mother as proof of America’s promise. He has sought to focus on his ability “to disrupt the narrative” of race, while criticizing President Joe Biden and other Democrats on crime, inflation and other issues.

“This fight is personal. I want every American to have the same opportunities I had,” Scott said in a Twitter post announcing his plan, adding in a video: “This is personal to me. I will never back down in defense of the conservative values that make America exceptional.”

Scott, 57, often stresses the need for political unity and strikes an upbeat tone, in contrast with many other declared or prospective Republican candidates, who have portrayed the United States as a once-great nation in deep decline.

His announcement video was filmed at Fort Sumter off Charleston, South Carolina, where the state militia in 1861 attacked federal troops, starting the Civil War, in which South Carolina and other Southern states fought to defend slavery.

Scott called for the United States to once again overcome its deep political divisions. “America’s soul was put to the test,” he said. “And we prevailed.”

An exploratory committee will allow Scott to raise his national profile and continue fundraising with fewer regulatory limitations than a formal campaign.

The senator on Wednesday will visit Iowa, the lead-off state in the Republican presidential nominating process, before heading to New Hampshire on Thursday and South Carolina on Friday. On Saturday, he will give donors and prominent supporters a “political update,” according to an invitation seen by Reuters.

Scott has taken a leading role on police reform efforts and has spoken frequently on racial issues. He often called out Trump over racially charged comments during his presidency and blocked several of Trump’s judicial nominees for such reasons while also accusing Democrats of exploiting racial tensions for partisan gain.

Scott has described being a victim of racial prejudice but has insisted, as he put it in a 2021 speech, that “America is not a racist country.”