In this June 14, 2011, file photo Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., speaks to media on Capitol Hill in Washington. DeMint announced Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012 that he is resigning to take over at Heritage Foundation.
If there’s one thing you can count on in politics, it’s that an unexpected twist will come out of South Carolina. Sen. Jim DeMint‘s surprise announcement today that he’ll quit the Senate to run the Heritage Foundation is but the latest curveball to get Palmetto State politicos buzzing. It’s up to Gov. Nikki Haley to name DeMint’s replacement, and a quick canvass of our sources establishes a pretty solid list of early contenders.
The names we heard, in rough order of their chances:
Rep. Mick Mulvaney wants to be a senator. The second-term Republican, who knocked off Democrat John Spratt in 2010, has been seen as a likely statewide candidate even before he won office.
Former Attorney General Henry McMaster could play the role of caretaker before a successor is elected in a 2014 special election. McMaster lost to Haley in the 2010 gubernatorial primary, but he endorsed Haley in the runoff and the two have a good relationship (McMaster’s press secretary in 2010, Rob Godfrey, went to work for Haley and still works as her official press secretary).
State Rep. Nathan Ballentine was Haley’s closest confidante in the state House, at a time when she didn’t have a lot of allies. He’s the dark horse.
Rep. Tim Scott, another Republican first elected in 2010, would be the lone African American in the Senate if he’s elected. But our sources say Scott wants to be governor rather than a senator. CNN’s Peter Hamby, an expert on South Carolina Republican politics, agrees on that one. One Republican source who keeps tabs on the state also notes that Haley and Scott share a consultant – pollster Jon Lerner, who also served as former Gov. Mark Sanford’s top political advisor.
(RELATED: House GOP Favorite Tim Scott Is Ready For What Comes Next)
Former Rep. Gresham Barrett, who lost to Haley in the gubernatorial runoff in 2010, still has a following among some of the more establishment-type South Carolina Republicans.
Rep. Joe Wilson and his son Alan are longshots. Alan won his first term as South Carolina’s attorney general in 2010.
David Wilkins, a big-time Republican fundraiser and President George W. Bush’s ambassador to Canada, is always on the list of possible statewide candidates. But Wilkins hasn’t pulled the trigger on an actual campaign since he left the state legislature in 2005.
Former South Carolina Republican Party chairman Katon Dawson still wields enormous clout in GOP circles. He has contemplated running for office, and he’s not as alienated from Haley as most of the rest of the state party establishment.
Ted Pitts is Haley’s deputy chief of staff and another former ally in the state legislature. If Haley wants one of her own in the Senate, Pitts could be a contender.
One person Haley won’t pick: State House Speaker Bobby Harrell. Haley has wrestled almost constantly with her own party in the legislature, and she reserves a special disdain for Harrell, the power broker who’s given her the most grief. He shouldn’t expect a phone call any time soon.
Of course, Haley could always appoint herself. Our sources say that’s not out of the question.
(RELATED — The Potential Replacements for Sen. Jim DeMint — VIDEO)
I really question the Governor’selection to fill Demint’s position, just as I question his timing to resign. I don’t believe the Governor ever does anything that is not self-serving first and foremost.The Tea Party worries me because they are so unwilling to compromise. Just like the NRA. They caused me to vote Democrat for the first time in my life – I am 65. I consider myself a moderate independant: slightly to the right on fiscal matters and slightly to the left on social issues. No new taxes: not now, not ever, never! is totally unrealistic to even the most uninformed, and I could never trust the judgement of an elected official who would sign such a pledge. Blindly adhearing to party dogma is absurd. The other side can have an idea worth consideration, but to reject it simply because it might give the other side some political advantage is not in keeping with the oath of office. What is really annoying is that politicians at every level seem to think people are stupid and don’t see through what happens and why. But I guess the saying that we get the kind of government we vote for and are willing to put up with is true. Thank you for your time. Wallace Bentley By the way, I worked in county, state and federal law enforcement for 36 years so I have a better than usual understanding of how the game is played.