Posted on 06/23/2010 7:42:12 AM PDT by iowamark
State Rep. Tim Scott took a step toward history Tuesday night, handily locking up the Republican nomination for the 1st Congressional District.
He took 68 percent of the vote to beat his former Charleston County Council colleague Paul Thurmond, which makes him likely to become the first black Republican to serve in the U.S. House since J.C. Watts of Oklahoma retired six years ago.
If these unofficial results hold and Scott also wins Nov. 2, he would become the first black Republican elected to Congress from the Deep South since Reconstruction.
During their campaign, Scott and Thurmond, whose late father had a record-setting Senate career that famously included early opposition to integration, played down the historical implications of their race.
"This election is about finding a way to bring us together so our country continues to lead the world on every front possible," Scott told his cheering supporters.
Scott, 44, said later he wants to be remembered for his principles and issues. "The relevance of me being black is really, fortunately irrelevant," he said. "The voters voted for a guy who they felt represented their values and their issues and their philosophy."
Thurmond's legendary father, Strom Thurmond, is remembered in part for his 1948 presidential bid as a segregationist "Dixiecrat" almost three decades before Paul Thurmond was born.
Paul Thurmond deliberately avoided interviews from national journalists exploring that angle. After the polls closed, Thurmond said any candidate who defeats eight others during an extended primary contest is legitimate.
"It has nothing to do with their skin. It's about their ability to connect with the people," he said. Thurmond, 34, grew up in the post-Civil Rights era and said of Scott, "If some bridges are torn down because of this, that's a great thing."
Scott's big win is a bright spot for national Republicans trying to diversify their party.
While Michael Steele, the first black to head the Republican National Committee, recruited 32 African-American candidates, most have lost or are expected to lose.
Andy Sere, spokesman for the National Republican Campaign Committee, said Scott didn't bring his race into the campaign, but instead stressed his conservative message.
The NRCC remained neutral, but such national Republicans as former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former Alaska Governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and the Club for Growth lined up behind Scott.
Thurmond and Scott agreed on the need to lower spending and cut taxes, but they disagreed on earmarks.
Scott opposed them unilaterally, but Thurmond said he would fight for some, such as money for dredging Charleston Harbor. Unlike Thurmond, Scott also vowed, if elected, not to seek more than four terms. Covering the politics of the Lowcountry, South Carolina and the nation.
About 14 percent of 1st District voters turned out Tuesday. That was about 12,000 fewer votes than the 80,845 cast in the nine-way contest June 8.
Scott will take on perennial Democratic candidate Ben Frasier on Nov. 2. Other independent candidates on that ballot are Keith Blandford of the Libertarian Party, Robert Dobbs of the Green Party, M.E. McCullough of the United Citizens Party and Jimmy Wood of the Independent Party.
The 1st District covers parts of Berkeley, Charleston, Dorchester, Georgetown and Horry counties. It has been in Republican hands since 1980.
I saw him on Fox a few weeks back, with Cavuto, I think. I hope he does well; he has certainly earned the chance.
i hope he wins.
Tim Scott will almost certainly win. The 1st District has been Republican since 1980 and I doubt that will change this year.
Tim Scott will make a great Congressman for the people of this District and for South Carolina!
...AND FOR AMERICA! Saw a video of interview with him, tremendously impressed. He's clean, he's articulate, he's conservative, so maybe Joe Biden will overlook that third attribute, which to him is character flaw.
GOP picked two winners in Scott and Haley.
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