The news from South Carolina is a sign of the times, not an anomaly: State Rep. Tim Scott, an African-American, clobbered Strom Thurmond’s son Paul in the Republican primary for a Congressional seat, while Nikki Haley easily won a runoff election to be the Republican nominee for Governor of South Carolina.
The State reports:
Scott, 44, owns an insurance business and became the first black Republican in the South Carolina Legislature in more than a century when elected two years ago. Before that, he served 13 years on Charleston County Council and was elected chairman four times.
He’s now the favorite in the coastal 1st District, which has elected a Republican congressman for three decades. … Scott grew up in poverty in North Charleston, his parents divorcing when he was 7. …
Earlier this year, Scott was campaigning for lieutenant governor, but changed his sights after U.S. Rep. Henry Brown announced he was retiring. The district reaches from near Charleston northeast along the state’s coast to the high rise hotels of Myrtle Beach.
Scott picked up key national endorsements, including one from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. The Washington-based Club for Growth, which promotes reducing taxes, budget reform and free trade said Tuesday that donations from its members and political action committee totaled more than $313,000 for Scott. …
“Our objective is to attract the voters who have the same ideals that we have – seeing the same issues as important,” Scott said. “If we focus on those issues, we attract a diverse group of people.”
Scott promises to dismantle the new federal health care law he says costs too much and is unconstitutional. He promises to cut federal spending and simplify a federal tax code he says is the product of too much lobbying and too many lawyers.
Candidates like Tim Scott and Nikki Haley are, I think, a big part of the Republican Party’s future.
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