I disagree, SC-1 has a Cook PVI rating of R+10 and has been continually GOP-held since 1981 during the Reagan revolution. I don't think the RATs (especially the notorious weak SC RAT party) has any shot at that seat, whether Scott is the incumbent or whether it's an open seat.
Better to pick him now to slap down the RATs latest "GOP hates minorities" meme they've been circulating for months. It would make headlines if the first black Senator from the south since reconstruction was a Republican. By 2014, Obama's re-election will be a distant memory, the GOP "minority problem" will be old news and McMaster will be little more than a low-key reliable GOP vote for the next two years while Obama is in the position to do the most damage -- we need an outspoken conservative that can't be bashed as some mean ol' WASP who wants to "take American backwards", blah blah blah (I know, the RATs will call Scott every name in the book: Oreo, Uncle Tom, etc.) I think Jim DeMint was way overrated the way some freepers worshipped him, but there's no denying he was an outspoken conservative unafraid of criticism, and we need more of that in the Senate now.
Waiting until 2014 means a hotly contested GOP Senate primary with Scott facing a costly campaign against a bunch of establishment Republicans. IF he wins the primary, the media will just excuse it by saying conservatives split their vote and he got it by sheer luck. We need to learn to strike while the iron is hot and we have a unique opening. The RATs do it all the time.
South Carolina needs Scott not a Heiress
I agree, having Scott run in an open-seat primary likely will result in a huge field in which God knows who will finish first and second to go to the run-off. And even if Scott survives the primary, he would have to run in the election without the benefit od being the incumbent. I’d much rather have Scott join the Senate in January even if it means that there would be a special electiom in SC-01 during the summer. And I am not worried at all about the SC-01 race—the CD is a couple of points more Republican than the state as a whole.
Several Representatives too.
"Reconstruction saw the election of an African American senator, Hiram Revels of Mississippi, and several members of the House from the South. After a brief period of Republican control in the South which saw major improvements in the lives of African Americans, Southern states instituted new laws aimed at intimidating black political activities."
From 41-42nd Congress
Tim Scott would be a great pick.
DeMint type Tea Party conservative.
We cannot afford to lose a strong conservative and get another seat-warmer.