Mindy Noce: Tim Scott’s Girlfriend Revealed After 3rd GOP Debate, Campaign Confirms

After yet another underwhelming performance on the Republican presidential primary debate stage by Tim Scott, eagle-eyed viewers wondered Wednesday night if the South Carolina senator – what with his low-polling campaign seemingly nearing the final nail in its unavoidable coffin – may have finally introduced his much-discussed alleged girlfriend.

Scott, who during the third debate thought it was wise to tout his presidential plan for a national abortion ban less than 24 hours after voters in Ohio cast ballots to defeat such a proposition, was spotted with an unidentified woman following the event in Miami.

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The two of them smiled broadly while posing on the stage for photographers snapping away, as candidates typically do with their spouses after debates. As they left the stage, the woman appeared to reach for Scott’s hand.

The speculation was instantaneous: Was this the “soft launch” of Scott revealing his girlfriend, a “lovely Christian” woman whose existence has already reached mythical status in mere months?

Accompanied by a pair of emoji eyes, the Recount wondered whether the moment was the long-awaited “Tim Scott girlfriend reveal?”

 

The question seemingly asked in unison on social media was later answered by Axios reporter Sophia Cai, who posted on social media that Scott confirmed the woman was indeed his girlfriend. Cai reported that Scott told her the woman’s name is “Mindy” and that they’ve been together for “about a year or so.”

Scott’s campaign later confirmed to Cai that the woman’s full name is “Mindy Noce, a design & renovations manager in Charleston, SC.”

 

With Republican donors reportedly pressing the issue, the storyline of Scott being single while seeking the presidency dominated headlines ahead of the second Republican presidential debate in September.

As a result, Scott had been unable to avoid the scrutiny of being a bachelor that critics have suggested might be rooted in homophobia more than it is a nod to the Republican Party’s so-called family values.

The chatter about Scott’s girlfriend had died down over the last month, but his appearance alongside the unidentified woman on Wednesday revived interest and commentary about the topic.

Here’s what Tim Scott has said about his girlfriend

Back in September, Republican Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird interviewed Scott in Des Moines, starting “with a little bit of a personal question” before they spoke about policy.

“Other than your mama,” Bird began, “is there any special lady in your life?”

Scott, by this point a seasoned pro in talking about his “girlfriend,” was ready.

“Yes,” Scott answered immediately before remarking on the media coverage of the topic and highlighting their shared religion.

“I’m dating a lovely Christian girl,” Scott said. “One of the things I love about the gospel of Jesus Christ is it points us always in the right direction.”

Scott then quoted Proverbs 18:22 from the Bible in an apparent suggestion that he may propose to the mystery woman.

“He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord,” Scott said before kneeling and asking a chuckling audience to pray with him.

He continued by saying that “yes,” he’s “very excited” about his “girlfriend.”

Crediting his relationship to divine intervention, Scott added that he was “so thankful to know a risen savior has helped guide my way, and … He’s allowed my life to intersect at the right time with the right person.”

 

The topic of Scott’s singleness has likely come up in previous years, but it’s never made national headlines the way it is now.

It was seemingly first brought to the national consciousness in an interview with NBC News in May when he was asked whether he “had time for a woman” in his life amid a presidential campaign.

“Oh, there’s always– there’s always time for– a great relationship with a wonderful woman. And I thank god that that is happening. But– so I’ll leave it there,” Scott said cryptically.

About a week later, Scott went lightly more into depth while casually mentioning during an interview with Axios that he has a “girlfriend” in response to a question about why voters would want to hear about family values from an unmarried man with no children.

While explaining that we’re not “living in 1963,” Scott suggested he lives with his “girlfriend” and emphasized that his status as an unmarried man allows him more time for work and with his partner. “My girlfriend wants to see me when I get home,” Scott said.

Ever since then, Scott has been pressed about being unmarried. That truth has especially been ramped up over the summer, including in August with a separate Axios report claiming that “GOP donors fret over Scott’s single status.”

In that instance, an anonymous “senior official for Scott’s campaign told Axios the South Carolina senator will be discussing the issue in the coming weeks,” the news outlet wrote.

Days later, without mentioning his “girlfriend,” Scott said without proof that his opponents were plating stories in the press about his unmarried status which he said “voters don’t care” about, NBC News reported.

“People plant stories that have conversations to distract from our rise in the polls, to distract from our size of our audience,” Scott said. “What we’ve seen is that poll after poll says that the voters don’t care, but it seems like opponents do care, and so media coverage that opponents plant — it’s OK. Good news is we just keep fighting the good fight.”

Then in September, Scott vowed on Fox News to reveal the identity of his “wonderful girlfriend” and reiterated that the reason his unmarried status has become such a big deal is because his candidacy instills fear in the other Republicans running for president.

“I have a wonderful girlfriend, and we have a wonderful relationship,” Scott said on Saturday. “The good news is that God has blessed me with a smart, Christian woman. That’s great news, but more importantly is, why are the headlines there? The headlines are there because as I rise in the polls, as people show up at night in my town halls, it scares even my opponents.”

Scott said his “girlfriend” would be introduced to the world “at some point.”

 

Days later, Scott had even more to say about his “girlfriend” in an interview with the Washington Post. He repeated his plans to introduce her to the world and suggested he had intentions to marry her.

“I can’t imagine dragging her onto the campaign trail unless I have the intention of marrying her,” Scott told the Post. “I hope that happens, to be honest with you.”

Scott did not allow the Post to meet his “girlfriend,” but his campaign manager vouched for her. However, the Post reported that “six friends” of Scott “said they didn’t know about a woman in his life.”

The United States has not elected an unmarried president since James Buchanan in 1856, or 167 years ago. But it’s important to note that when Scott’s fellow unmarried Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham ran for president in 2016, this type of scrutiny was missing from his campaign.

Perhaps that’s because, as Scott says, his candidacy is seen as more of a viable threat to the front-runners than Graham’s candidacy was seen during the 2016 election cycle.

But, maybe – just maybe – it’s a bit deeper than that, what with the so-called “woke” culture wars being waged by Republicans against everything from Black history school curriculum to gay rights and much more.

“‘Bachelor status’ is code for ‘sexual identity,’” Boston Globe columnist and associate opinion editor Renée Graham previously explained. “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.”

This is America.

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