US Senator Tim Scott is running to become the first Black Republican president, papers filed with the Federal Election Commission showed on Friday.

The 57-year-old, who had been widely expected to jump into the race since launching a presidential exploratory committee in April, is planning to hold his official launch in his home town of North Charleston, South Carolina, on Monday.

He has spent recent months visiting the states considered crucial to gaining early momentum in the Republican nominating contest, where he has underlined his Christian faith and the conservative values he learned growing up in a poor, single parent household.

He has also played up his unique perspective as the only African American on the Republican side of the US Senate.