While it will be more than a year until Americans decide the next president of the United States a new Republican candidate is stumping in siouxland.

South Carolina Senator Tim Scott officially announced his candidacy on Monday. Wednesday, he met with staff and community members at Siouxland Christian School.

Staff and community members got to ask the Republican questions about their concerns including religion, government spending, and schools. Scott outlined his idea to address the national teacher shortage.

“And so from a federal level, I’m a guy that believes in federalism. I don’t think the federal government should be running local education. But I do think we should take the dollars that are coming from the federal government and give parents more flexibility to make better choices with those dollars. “

He pointed to Iowa’s school choice program as a blueprint for federal education spending.

“Part of it would be looking at areas of high needs, like rural communities, where it’s harder to attract teachers. I think there a lot of things we can do, should do, we can accelerate the path to reducing student loan burdens.

Scott also held a town hall at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Novelty Machine & Supply Co. Building. He spoke about his views on education, immigration, China and the fact that he lets his faith guide his politics.

Two people KCAU 9 spoke with after the event said they appreciate Scott’s attention to Iowa.

“First that he takes Western Iowa seriously, this is his first visit in Iowa since becoming a candidate. Usually, the candidates will do their you know Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, the Quad Cities. Oh west you mean Wyoming, Idaho, no Siouxland so I was very impressed that he came here first.” says David Sturrock of Marshall, Minnesota.

“I think that’s pretty cool that he’s here in Sioux City and we got to see him firsthand and it was a great turnout tonight. I think he’s got a great future” said Kevin Freese of Battle Creek.

According to polling, Scott currently trails Republican frontrunners Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis by a considerable margin so far claiming only 2 percent support.