Tim Scott: U.S. Senator?

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) is resigning from the U.S. Senate in January in order to head up The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Who will South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley appoint to fill the seat until the 2014 special election? Rep. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who Sen. DeMint reportedly wants to replace him and who is also good friends with Governor Haley, is at the top of the list. From CNN: "Scott would be the Senate's only African-American member and the GOP's second African-American senator since Reconstruction. Also working in Scott's favor is the fact that DeMint holds South Carolina's conservative congressional delegation in very high regard – and DeMint's influence in Palmetto State GOP politics cannot be overstated or ignored. DeMint has long viewed Scott, a former state legislator who was first elected in 2010 with the help of tea party activists and national conservative groups, as a rising star and protégé."