9:47 a.m. | Updated Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina has chosen Representative Tim Scott to replace Jim DeMint in the United States Senate, according to three Republican officials. The move will make Mr. Scott the first black senator from the South since the late 19th century.
The governor will make the announcement at noon at the Statehouse in Columbia, S.C. She began informing the roster of finalists on Monday morning about her decision to go with Mr. Scott, who was the preferred candidate of many conservative leaders and groups in Washington.
Ms. Haley seriously considered a number of potential contenders, particularly Jenny Sanford, the ex-wife of former Gov. Mark Sanford, who had been supportive of Ms. Haley in her race two years ago. But in choosing Mr. Scott, she selected a senator with a strong conservative voting record during his two years in Congress.
Additionally, Mr. Scott offers a unique story and background, one that is in scant supply in their party right now. Raised by a single mother, he was, by his account, a lost child who struggled with school and with life until a Chick-fil-A franchise owner took him on as a protégé and schooled him in conservative principles.
“Coming from a single-parent household and almost flunking out of high school,” Mr. Scott said in 2010, during his bid for the House, “my hope is I will take that experience and help people bring out the best that they can be.”
Speaking on condition of anonymity, three Republican officials familiar with the process confirmed to The New York Times the decision to select Mr. Scott. Aides to the governor declined to comment before the noon announcement.
Mr. DeMint announced earlier this month that he would retire two years into his second Senate term to run the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank based in Washington. In Mr. Scott, Ms. Haley has chosen a lawmaker with very similar views to Mr. DeMint on all matters of public policy from taxes to guns to social issues.
Mr. Scott, who lives in Charleston, will no doubt be missed among many of his House Republican colleagues. “There is not a kinder, more humble, sweet-spirited person,” Representative Trey Gowdy, one of Mr. Scott’s freshman colleagues from South Carolina, who was also considered for the job, said in an interview last week. “That is somewhat antithetical to what you’d expect at this level of politics. “
Besides Mrs. Sanford and Mr. Gowdy, Mr. Scott bested several other finalists including former Attorney General Henry McMaster and Catherine Templeton, the state health agency director. A rush to fill Mr. Scott’s seat will now ensue with various contenders already licking their chops.
The Caucus: Congressman Said to Be Pick for South Carolina Senate Seat
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The Caucus: Congressman Said to Be Pick for South Carolina Senate Seat
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The Caucus: Congressman Said to Be Pick for South Carolina Senate Seat
