Free Republic

Bridget Johnson November 6, 2014 The first African-American senator to be elected from the South since reconstruction made dual history Tuesday as Tim Scott (R-S.C.) won the seat to which he was appointed after Jim DeMint’s retirement. Scott is also the first black senator to be elected in both the House and the Senate. “South Carolina voters vote their values and their issues and not my complexion. This is a great sign for what’s happening throughout the south. But certainly, a fantastic sign for the evolution that has occurred in South Carolina,” Scott told MSNBC this morning. His win versus...

South Carolina's Tim Scott on Tuesday became the first African-American senator to win election in the South since Reconstruction. The Palmetto State Republican was appointed by Gov. Nikki Haley to the office after former Sen. Jim DeMint resigned in November 2012. In this year's midterms, he outlasted Democratic challenger Joyce Dickerson. The election was only to fill the last two years of DeMint's term. Scott will have to run again in 2016 in order to earn a full six-year term. Scott's win also made him the first African-American in U.S. history to be elected to both the House and the...