Congressman Tim Scott will be sworn in Jan. 3 to replace Jim DeMint, Gov. Nikki Haley announced her selection Monday. Scott, 47, will be sworn in Jan. 3 to replace DeMint.
Congressman Tim Scott was selected by fellow Republican Gov. Nikki Haley Monday to take over the seat being vacated by Jim DeMint.
Scott, 47, will be sworn in Jan. 3 to replace DeMint, who announced earlier this month he would forgo the remaining four years of his term to lead The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.
Four years ago Scott was chairman of the Charleston County Council. His election in 2008 made him the first black Republican in the South Carolina Legislature in more than a century. In 2010 he won his seat in the U.S. House from his conservative coastal district with 65 percent of the vote.
Scott will become the fourth black Republican in Senate history and the first black senator since former Illinois Sen. Barack Obama was elected president. He will be the only black Republican in Congress in January. Rep. Allen West of Florida lost his re-election bid.
Haley said: "It is very important to me as a minority female, that Congressman Scott earned this seat, he earned this seat for the person he is, for the results he's shown. He earned this seat for what I know he's going to do in making South Carolina and our country proud."
"I've never heard on the campaign trail, 'Besides the fact you're black or because you're black, here's what we want of you.' They asked me questions about values and issues, and that's an amazing thing. It speaks to the evolution of South Carolina and our nation," Scott said.
Scott will serve for two years and then face an election in November 2014, the same time two-term Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham is up for re-election.
Scott grew up in North Charleston and earned a degree in political science from Charleston Southern University.