GOP's Tim Scott to be S.C.'s first black senator

Rep. Tim Scott was named Monday to replace outgoing GOP Sen. Jim DeMint, becoming the first African-American senator from the South since Reconstruction.

In making the appointment, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley -- herself a trailblazer as the state's first female governor -- heralded Scott and his conservative record in Congress and the state Legislature. She cited his votes to hold down federal spending and create more jobs in the state, as well as his efforts pushing back on the federal government and unions against Boeing Co.'s labor practices.

"It is very important to me as a minority female that Congressman Scott earned his seat," said Haley, who is of Indian descent. "He earned this seat for the person he is."

Scott will replace outgoing GOP Sen. Jim DeMint, an influential conservative and Tea Party favorite, who is resigning to become president of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Scott said he intends to run for the remainder of DeMint's term during a special election in 2014.

"I am thankful to the good Lord and a strong mom who believes love has to come at the end of a switch," said Scott, 47, as he praised his single mother's work ethic and the guidance of businessman John Moniz, the owner of a Chick-fil-A franchise who became his mentor.

Scott vowed to tackle the nation's debt and budget issues, with an eye toward cutting spending.

"Our nation finds itself in a situation where we need some backbone," Scott said at a news conference at the Statehouse in Columbia, surrounded by Haley, DeMint and the state's congressional delegation. "If you have a problem with spending there's not enough revenue to make up for it."

David Woodard, a political scientist at Clemson University, said Scott's appointment is "historic for all of the South." While Scott is the first African American from the Deep South to serve in the U.S. Senate, he is also the first black senator from the Palmetto State.

"What African Americans need are capitalism and conservative values, and Tim Scott is a great vehicle for that," Woodard said. "He represents a generation that is interested in entrepreneurship, conservative principles and volunteerism."

Scott, 47, was elected in 2010 to represent a U.S. House district in the Charleston area. A former member of the South Carolina state Legislature, Scott quickly became a favorite of House Speaker John Boehner and GOP officials in Washington and served in a leadership position for the 2010 freshman class.

He has a compelling life story, according to his biography in the Almanac of American Politics. Scott and his siblings were raised by a single mother who worked as a nurse's assistant. By his own account, Scott was on the brink of flunking out of high school when Moniz took him under his wing. Scott later earned a partial football scholarship to college, and ran an insurance company and owned part of a real-estate agency before entering politics.

Scott's appointment was immediately hailed by the conservative Club for Growth and FreedomWorks, which has strong ties to the Tea Party movement. But Scott was also disparaged by liberal groups such as People for the American Way, which said he "embraces the religious right's anti-gay, anti-choice social agenda and the Tea Party's anti-government, anti-tax, anti-regulation agenda."

State law gave Haley sole authority to appoint a replacement for DeMint, who was first elected in 2004 and is leaving before his second term ends January 2017. The appointment holds major political weight for Haley, who has low approval ratings and is up for re-election in 2014.

Scott said he expects to take office on Jan. 3, when the 113th Congress convenes for the first time and new lawmakers are sworn in to office.

Haley reportedly had been considering five candidates: Congressmen Scott and Trey Gowdy, both elected in the Tea Party wave of 2010; former state first lady Jenny Sanford; former attorney general Henry McMaster; and Catherine Templeton, head of the state Department of Health Environmental Control.

The appointment sets in motion a series of events, which will make 2014 a busy year for Palmetto State politics. Both Haley and Graham, the state's senior U.S. senator, are on the ballot in 2014. There will also be a special election next year for Scott's seat in the U.S. House.

Woodard noted that Scott is popular and well-liked and has the support of his fellow members of Congress from South Carolina, which would give him an edge in a statewide race. The five GOP House members from South Carolina are very close, and they stuck together during a high-profile vote last year against Boehner's bill to reduce the deficit.

There have only been six blacks who have served in the U.S. Senate, according to the Senate website. They are Hiram Revels of Mississippi, who served in 1870; Blanche Bruce of Mississippi from 1875 to 1881; Edward Brooke of Massachusetts from 1967 to 1979; Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois from 1993 to 1999; Barack Obama of Illinois from 2005 until he resigned in 2008 after his presidential election; and Roland Burris, who was appointed to replace Obama and served until November 2010.

USA Today