Tim Scott is the first black senator in South Carolina’s history and also the first black Republican senator from any Southern state since the 1880s.
As the only African American serving in the Senate, he represents an image of diversity for a party that has struggled to engage black voters, a demographic that historically votes Democratic.
But Senator Scott’s hard-right political record may prevent him from garnering widespread approval.
Appointed by South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) to replace two-term Republican Sen. Jim DeMint, an early leader of the tea party movement who resigned in December to head the conservative Heritage Foundation, Scott will continue to champion his predecessor’s tea party principles.
“I can walk away from the Senate knowing that someone is in this seat that is better than I am that will carry the voice of opportunity conservatism to the whole country in a way that I couldn’t do,” Mr. DeMint said at a press conference.
Scott comes to the Senate after a brief tenure in the House. He was elected in 2010 on a wave of tea party support. During his time in the House, he led antiunion legislation, attacking the National Labor Relations Board. Governor Haley commended his antilabor agenda during his appointment announcement, saying his support helped save a Boeing plant in South Carolina, which is a right-to-work state.
He doesn’t compromise his conservative ideals, even amid pressure from congressional leadership.
“Yeah, I’m not much of a compromiser,” he told the National Journal, referring to his refusal in 2011 to vote for raising the debt ceiling, despite a request that he do so from House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio.
Scott started his political career in 1995 when he was elected to Charleston’s city council. In 1996, he was the campaign co-chairman for the late Sen. Strom Thurmond in his last election. In 2008, he became the only black Republican in South Carolina’s Statehouse. Scott defeated Senator Thurmond’s son, Paul, in his 2010 congressional bid. He rose quickly in the House ranks as one of the two freshmen selected for the Elected Leadership Committee, and he was asked to serve as Deputy Whip.
“Our nation finds itself in a situation where we need some backbone,” Scott said during his appointment press conference. “We need to make very difficult decisions.”
Republican Senate leaders assigned Scott to five committees: Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Energy and Natural Resources; Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; Aging; and Small Business.
