Republican Senator From South Carolina

National Security Agency Surveillance

In response to the 2013 disclosures about the United States National Security Agency and its international partners’ global surveillance of foreign nationals and U.S. citizens, Graham said he was “glad” the NSA was collecting phone records. He said, “I’m a Verizon customer. I don’t mind Verizon turning over records to the government if the government is going to make sure that they try to match up a known terrorist phone with somebody in the United States. I don’t think you’re talking to the terrorists. I know you’re not. I know I’m not. So we don’t have anything to worry about.”

On July 25, 2013, the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations unanimously adopted an amendment by Graham to the Fiscal Year 2014 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Bill that sought sanctions against any country that offered asylum to former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

Rep Tim Scott Of South Carolina To Be First Black Republican Senator Since 1978

Timothy Eugene Scott was growing up poor and black in Charleston, S.C., the son of a nurses aide who worked 16-hour shifts, when Strom Thurmond, who ran for president as the standard-bearer for segregationists, was at the peak of his powers in the Senate.

On Monday, the congressman was named to fill the office once held by Thurmond , making him the first black Republican to serve in the Senate since Edward Brooke of Massachusetts lost his bid for reelection in 1978. It also makes him the first African American senator from the South since Reconstruction and only the seventh black person ever to serve in that chamber. Gov. Nikki Haley selected him to succeed Jim DeMint , who is retiring.

The appointment propels Scott, 47, into the front ranks of a Republican Party trying to demonstrate that it can speak to a broader, non-white constituency. He joins Sen. Marco Rubio , Sen.-elect Ted Cruz and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal in putting a more diverse face on the GOP.

It is a great day for South Carolina. It is a historic day for South Carolina, said Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants who broke her own ground as the states first female governor, speaking at the statehouse in Columbia.

As the only black U.S. senator, Scott will become one of the most visible and important conservative figures in the country, one whose new prominence will require him to navigate a new set of political realities.

Statement On Russian Deal

Graham and Senator John McCain released a joint statement on the Russian deal with Syria to relinquish Syria’s chemical weapons. McCain and Graham called the deal, “an act of provocative weakness on Americaâs part. We cannot imagine a worse signal to send to Iran as it continues its push for a nuclear weapon. Is the message of this agreement that Assad is now our negotiating partner, and that he can go on slaughtering innocent civilians and destabilizing the Middle East using every tool of warfare, so long as he does not use chemical weapons? That is morally and strategically indefensible.”

The two senators offered their own recommendation saying, âThe only way this underlying conflict can be brought to a decent end is by significantly increasing our support to moderate opposition forces in Syria. We must strengthen their ability to degrade Assadâs military advantage, change the momentum on the battlefield, and thereby create real conditions for a negotiated end to the conflict.”

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Tim Scott Only Black Gop Senator Set To Respond To Biden

WASHINGTON Tim Scott, the only Black Republican senator, is often happy to dart past Capitol Hill reporters without saying much. This time, he and the spotlight have found each other.

Brought up by a single mother who worked backbreaking hours as a nursing assistant, the 55-year-old Scott has spent a decade in Congress representing South Carolina. Now, the lawmaker who combines a willingness to address racial questions with an advocacy of vintage conservative themes such as opportunity and optimism is giving his partys nationally televised response to President Joe Bidens Wednesday night address to Congress.

Scott also is the lead GOP negotiator as the two parties seek an accord on legislation overhauling police procedures. The issue has long eluded compromise despite national attention fanned by last years killing of George Floyd, a Black man, and this months conviction of a former Minneapolis police officer in his slaying.

You figure out who your audience is, you figure out what you want to say and you try and find a way to say it well, Scott told reporters Tuesday about his speech preparations. And you lean into who you are.

GOP leaders choíce of Scott to answer Biden comes at a tense political moment.

Scott, from North Charleston, South Carolina, nearly dropped out of high school. He tells of a life-changing turnabout after befriending a businessman who became a mentor and stressed the value of hard work.

Theyre All Begging Me: Trump Claims Would

CHARLESTON, South Carolina Tim Scott knows the hassle that comes with being both black and conservative. Recently The View host Sunny Hostin said that being a black Republican is an oxymoron, and Scott, who is the only black Republican in the US senate, just shook his head.

The comments are ridiculous, he said.

The GOP has championed causes for underserved communities and minority communities that have been really hammered under President Biden, he said, before pointing to rising inflation and how the average person can barely afford to put gas in the car, use energy in their house, pay for their health care and take care of any other expenses.

Contrast that against what happened when we were in the majority for 2016 to 2020, where we saw African American unemployment go to the lowest level ever recorded in the history of the country, he said.

The only question I have for those pundits on TV is why arent they conservative? he asked.

Tim Scotts name is in the top tier of those being mentioned as potential Republican presidential candidates in 2024, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence and former President Donald Trump.

So is he planning to run in 2024? Hes not saying, but he admits he gets asked that a lot.

Whatever happens, faith will guide his choice. It will be the genesis of that decision, he said.

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Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection Survey Responses

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Survey responses from candidates in this race

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Early Life And Career

Edward William Brooke III was born on October 26, 1919, in Washington, D.C., to middle-class black family. His father was Edward William Brooke Jr., a lawyer and graduate of Howard University who worked with the Department of Veterans Affairs. His mother was Helen Brooke. He was the second of three children. Brooke was raised in a racially segregated environment that was “insulated from the harsh realities of the Deep South“, with Brooke rarely interacting with the white community. He attended Dunbar High School then one of the most prestigious academic high schools for African Americans and graduated in 1936. After graduating, he enrolled in Howard University, where he first considered studying in medicine, before ending up studying social studies and political science. Brooke graduated from university in 1941, with a bachelor of science degree, and enlisted in the United States Army immediately following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

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Pgi: Change In Net Worth

See also: Changes in Net Worth of U.S. Senators and Representatives and Net worth of United States Senators and Representatives

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Graham’s net worth as of 2012 was estimated between $298,007 to $1,095,999. That averages to $697,003, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican Senate members in 2012 of $6,956,438.47. Graham ranked as the 75th most wealthy senator in 2012. Between 2004 and 2012, Graham’s calculated net worth increased by an average of 15 percent per year.Between 2004 and 2012, the average annual percentage increase for a member of Congress was 15.4 percent.

The data used to calculate changes in net worth may include changes resulting from assets gained through marriage, inheritance, changes in family estates and/or trusts, changes in family business ownership, and many other variables unrelated to a member’s behavior in Congress.

Benghazi Survivors & Obama Nominees

On October 28, 2013, Graham took to Twitter to state that he would block each of Barack Obama’s nominees on the Senate floor until information about the survivors of the attack in Benghazi, Libya was released. Graham tweeted:

Despite this vow, on October 30, Graham announced at a press conference that he was looking forward to confirming Obama’s Department of Homeland Security nominee, Jeh Johnson. Graham referred to Johnson as “a really well-qualified guy.” Graham also amended his earlier pronouncement by stating that the block did not extend to Rep. Mel Watt‘s nomination to director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, since cloture was already filed before Graham’s promise.

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South Carolina House Of Representatives

Elections

In 2008, incumbent Republican State Representative Tom Dantzler decided to retire. With support from advisors such as Nicolas Muzin, Scott ran for his seat in District 117 of the South Carolina House of Representatives and won the Republican primary with 53% of the vote, defeating Bill Crosby and Wheeler Tillman. He won the general election unopposed, becoming the first Republican African American State Representative in South Carolina in more than 100 years.

Tenure

Scott supported South Carolina’s right-to-work laws and argued that Boeing chose South Carolina as a site for manufacturing for that reason.

In South Carolina Club for Growth‘s 200910 scorecard, Scott earned a B and a score of 80 out of 100. The South Carolina Association of Taxpayers praised his “diligent, principled and courageous stands against higher taxes.”

Committee assignments

State Of The Union Response

Following the 2014 State of the Union Address, Graham said, “The world is literally about to blow up. The world as I know was not remotely described by the president. Syria is a contagion. Explain to me what happens if the Syrian conflict goes on another year and Assad continues to win. Iraq is disintegrating. The whole region is moving toward chaos, and weâre doing nothing. Weâre talking about limiting drones? I hope he will leave a residual force in Afghanistan they can do the job, because if he doesnât, it will fall apart at a faster pace than Iraq.”

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Early Life And Education

Scott was born in North Charleston, South Carolina, a son of Frances and Ben Scott Sr. His parents divorced when he was 7. He grew up in working-classpoverty with his mother working 16-hour days to support her family. His older brother is a sergeant major in the U.S. Army.

Scott graduated from R.B. Stall High School. He attended Presbyterian College from 1983 to 1984, on a partial football scholarship he graduated from Charleston Southern University in 1988 with a Bachelor of Science degree in political science. Scott is an alumnus of South Carolina’s Palmetto Boys State program, an experience he cites as influential in his decision to enter public service.

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Tested Positive For Coronavirus On August 2 2021

See also: Government official, politician, and candidate deaths, diagnoses, and quarantines due to the coronavirus pandemic, 2020-2021

On August 2, 2021, Graham announced he tested positive for COVID-19. Graham said he had previously received a COVID-19 vaccine.

On March 12, 2020, Graham self-quarantined because of coronavirus. He announced a negative test on March 15.

COVID-19, also known as coronavirus disease 2019, is the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The first confirmed case of the disease in the United States was announced on January 21, 2020. For more of Ballotpedia’s coverage of the coronavirus impact on political and civic life, .

Tim Scott Once Quiet On Matters Of Race Embraces Key Role On Police Reform

The sole black Republican senator cited his personal experiences with racism as a vital perspective to his partys approach to a law enforcement overhaul.

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By Catie Edmondson and Nicholas Fandos

WASHINGTON Senator Tim Scott has spent much of his career trying to avoid letting the color of his skin define his political identity, keeping a line at the ready to offer to new acquaintances: I am a Christian who is a conservative, he likes to say, and you may have noticed, Im black.

But when protests for racial justice erupted across the nation this month, thrusting Republicans onto the defensive as the public clamored for action to address systemic racism in policing, it was Mr. Scott who marched up to Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, and asked to write his partys legislative response. The two men agreed that there was no one better for the job.

After years of silence, he has spoken publicly on the Senate floor about being racially profiled by the police as a senator on Capitol Hill. It fell to him in 2017 to privately counsel President Trump about the long history of racism. And last week, Mr. Scott was the one who stood up in a roomful of white Republicans and made a private pitch for a proposal that could answer the strident calls for change without betraying bedrock party principles.

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Charleston Church Shooting And Confederate Flag Issue

After a multiple shooting incident at an historic African American church in Charleston on June 17, 2015, Graham canceled all campaign events to return to South Carolina. In response to questions from the press regarding the calls from some to remove the Confederate flag at a war memorial on the South Carolina State Capitol grounds, Graham said, “Well, at the end of the day it’s time for people in South Carolina to revisit that decision. would be fine with me, but this is part of who we are.” He continued, “The flag represents to some people a civil war, and that was the symbol of one side. To others it’s a racist symbol, and it’s been used by peopleit’s been used in a racist way.” Of the shooter responsible for the incident, Graham said, “We’re not going to give this a guy an excuse about a book he might have read, or a movie he watched, or a song he listened to, or a symbol out anywhere. It’s him … not the flag.”

In a statement issued later, Graham said, “There can be no doubt that the shooting … was racially motivated and signals to all of us that the scars of our history are still with us today. This murderer said he wanted to start a race war he has failed miserably. In Charleston this weekend, I saw a community coming together. I saw people seeking solace in what they share together, not in what makes them different.”

United States Senate Election In South Carolina 2022

Voters in South Carolinawill elect one member to the U.S. Senate in the general election on November 8, 2022. The primary was scheduled for June 14, 2022, and a primary runoff was scheduled for June 28, 2022. The filing deadline was March 30, 2022.

The election will fill the Class III Senate seat held by Tim Scott , who first took office in 2013.The outcome of this race will affect the partisan balance of the U.S. Senate. Thirty-five of 100 seats are up for election, including one special election. Democrats have an effective majority, with the chamber split 50-50 and Vice President Kamala Harris having the tie-breaking vote. Fourteen seats held by Democrats and 21 seats held by Republicans are up for election in 2022.

For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

General election for U.S. Senate South Carolina

Incumbent Tim Scott, Krystle Matthews, Jesse Harper, and Larry Adams Jr. are running in the general election for U.S. Senate South Carolina on November 8, 2022.

Democratic primary runoff for U.S. Senate South Carolina

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate South Carolina

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

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