Tagged: South Carolina

With the announcement of Congressman Tim Scott filling the soon-to-be vacant seat of U.S. Senator Jim DeMint, South Carolina Republicans gain a continued stalwart of Tea Party conservatism with a history-making selection.

Scott is the only black Republican in Congress. The decision announced Monday makes him the South's first black Republican senator since Reconstruction and only the fourth black Republican ever in the U.S. Senate. 

He takes over for Jim DeMint, who announced earlier this month he would forgo the remaining four years of this term to take the helm of The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. His resignation takes effect Jan. 1. 

Since Jim DeMint’s surprise announcement that he was leaving office to head the Heritage Foundation, many observers have noted that one of the most conservative voices is leaving the U.S. Senate.

In fact, Gov. Nikki Haley indicated that she would be appointing “a person who has the same philosophy of government that Jim DeMint and I share.”

South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint has announced he's leaving the Senate in January to become president of The Heritage Foundation – a conservative think tank. In a statement, DeMint says he's leaving the Senate but - quote - "not leaving the fight." 

South Carolina Republicans knew Senator DeMint planned to retire after his second term in 2016, but they hoped to have him until then.

"Senator DeMint's been a rock star for us," says South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Chad Connelly. "He's become an icon for the conservative movement nationwide." 

Surveyors have been working for nearly 20 years to determine the exact path of the North Carolina and South Carolina border. And it will still be another few months before we know the official state lines. 

Alex Rankin has been walking and hiking much of the state line with his team for the last 12 years. He's president of the Concord engineering and surveying firm commissioned to rediscover the state boundary that was first drawn in the 1700s.