CENTRAL CITY — U.S. Sen. Tim Scott worked the crowd like a Sunday congregation, leaving the lectern behind to make his way through the audience with a microphone in hand, his voice rising in a passionate crescendo.
“It is Sunday, and my mama wanted a preacher,” he said to the gathered Iowans who hung on his words. “You’re the congregation today!”
Scott played to the crowd at a fundraiser for U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, emphasizing a joke with an exaggerated wink at the front row, cupping a hand to his ear to encourage a round of cheers and asking for an “Amen!” to punctuate a point.
“I wonder if he’s going to try to run for president,” Janet Hofmeyer, a 67-year-old Oelwein resident, said afterwards, adding that she’d be happy to see him do so.
Scott, a Republican from South Carolina, is among a group of national politicians making repeated trips to Iowa, helping to build…
