Kara S Alaimo, Guest Columnist

Tim Scott’s Marital Status Is None of America's Business

The expectation that presidential hopefuls should be married limits the candidate pool, especially hurting single women with political ambitions.

September 1, 2023 at 2:00 PM UTC

By Kara S Alaimo

Kara Alaimo is an associate professor of communication at Fairleigh Dickinson University. She is the author of “Over the Influence: Why Social Media Is Toxic for Women and Girls — and How We Can Take It Back.”

Having a spouse doesn’t automatically make a president better at negotiating with Congress.
Photographer: Allison Joyce/Getty Images North America

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Major Republican donors have questions for presidential candidate Tim Scott’s campaign about a potential political liability, according to reporting by Axios: He doesn’t have a wife. The US, after all, hasn’t had a single president in 139 years.

These concerns are irrational and unreasonable. It’s time for American voters — who are increasingly single — to stop judging politicians by their marital status.