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<p>Congress: The first black Republican senator in three decades will be a spokesman for Tea Party conservatism and a proud member of the party that was founded to fight slavery and made the civil rights revolution possible.</p> <p>Though he'll inevitably be dismissed as a "token" or worse, Rep. Tim Scott, the next Republican senator from the former slave state of South Carolina, and the first black GOP senator since Edward Brooke of Massachusetts, shatters once again the stereotype of the GOP as a party of racists and sexists.</p>

Welcome, my friends, to the least surprising political news of the week. Nikki Haley will appoint Rep. Tim Scott to replace Senator Jim DeMint in the US Senate, making Scott the upper chamber's only African-American member, and give him a boost in the 2014 special election for the rest of DeMint's term: Multiple media sources are reporting that South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley will indeed name Rep. Tim Scott to be the next senator from South Carolina.Scott will serve for two years, and then presumably run in a special election in 2014. If reelected, he would serve an additional two...

<p>Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is expected to name Rep. Tim Scott as the replacement for outgoing Sen. Jim DeMint, Fox News has learned.</p> <p>Haley is slated to announce her decision at noon on Monday at the Statehouse. Scott was elected to Congress in the 2010 Republican wave. Haley's selection would make him the first black U.S. senator from South Carolina.</p>

Republican Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina will announce GOP Sen. Jim DeMint's successor at noon EST on Monday, her spokesman posted on Twitter.

So it's not just the checkmark. I am just reporting what states Fox News has called. 49 Electoral Votes so far.

Two public school teachers are facing investigations for posting messages that some perceived as critical of President Obama on social networking sites. In Rock Hill, SC, a middle school teacher was placed on leave after she posted a message on her personal Facebook page about President Obama and food stamps. “Congrats Obama,” she allegedly wrote. “As one of my students sang down the hallway, ‘We get to keep our food stamps’ … which I pay for because they can’t budget their money … and really, neither can you.” A school spokesperson said they had received several calls complaining about the...

Aiken Public Safety is directing traffic from Whiskey Road onto East Gate Drive where motorists are attempting to turn into the Chick-fil-A parking lot in support of "Chick- fil-A Appreciation Day." Police Capt. David Turno said the franchise hired two officers earlier this week in anticipation of a large crowd. "Traffic is backed up, but the officers who were hired are out there directing the traffic," he said. Similar back-ups are being reported in North Augusta and in Atlanta. Steve Robinson, Executive Vice President of Marketing for Chick-fil-A, said in response to the overwhelming numbers of customers flooding the stores...

After Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy made public remarks that the chain does not support gay marriage, Sara McNamara put down her last Chick-fil-A sandwich and got to work. "I started an online petition to prevent a second Chick Fil A from coming to the College of Charleston campus. It's a slap in the face," said McNamara, a lesbian who says she's appalled by Cathy's words. Plans are already in the works to bring a second Chick Fil A to campus in Berry Residence Hall. A C of C spokesperson told Live 5 News construction is already under way and it...

South Carolina represents the heart of the conservative movement because its Republican voters are fierce fiscal and social conservatives, which means they fervently support the Tea Party and evangelicals. These voters are now popularly referred to as “Teavangelicals” and, predictably, dominated the Palmetto State’s primary. According to exit polling from Saturday’s first-in-the-South primary, 64 percent of those who voted in the GOP primary in South Carolina supported the Tea Party and another 27 percent were neutral. Only 8 percent opposed. In addition, 65 percent of primary voters were “Born-Again or Evangelical Christian.” What happened in South Carolina is important for...

Are we watching the meltdown of GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney? Fending off pointed attacks by fellow GOP candidates Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum ... Romney looked ...flustered, stiff, and at times just babbled In comparison, Gingrich looked like he still had all the momentum from Saturday’s South Carolina primary win. He calmly answered questions ...(snip) The biggest surprise in the debate: Gingrich was not asked about his personal transgressions, ... ...After his 12-point South Carolina win, Gingrich has surged ahead in the Florida polls, leading 41% to the former Massachusetts governor's 32%. Still, Romney does expected to win Florida....

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Let me just tell you something, again, going against the conventional wisdom. Everybody is out there thinking the reason Newt triumphed is because of his media smackdown. That's not it. Everybody wants to credit Juan Williams and John King and the media for throwing softballs inadvertently setting Newt up for these answers. It's important, there's no question about it. It was great, but it's not about that. It's not even about Newt's great debate skills. You notice now the establishment is not saying, "That isn't gonna matter." They're trying to say that everything that's got Newt where...

Just days before the South Carolina primary, polls showed Mitt Romney leading Newt Gingrich. Then came the debates and the question about Gingrich's private life, which brought a devastating response from the former Speaker of the House — and a standing ovation from the audience. Apparently the television audience felt the same way, judging by the huge turnaround in the support for Gingrich. The stunning victory in South Carolina brought Newt's candidacy back to life. But the message from South Carolina was about more than a reaction to how Gingrich dealt with a cheap shot question from the media....

Mitt Romney has helped re-energise the Tea Party Just three days ago, many pundits were writing the obituary of the Tea Party. The unstoppable rise of Mitt Romney and the hopeless divisions within the conservative field seemed to suggest that the radical grassroots movement had passed away. The UK’s Guardian newspaper (a sort of Pravda for public sector workers) was gleeful. Ewen MacAskill wrote, “The noise and energy associated with the Tea Party since it exploded on to the US political scene three years has been stilled, overshadowed in recent months by the youthful enthusiasm of the Occupy Wall Street...

Two of the key arguments of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's presidential candidacy—that he knows best how to handle the economy and stands the best chance of beating President Barack Obama—were dismissed by conservative South Carolina voters in the Republican primary Saturday, according to exit poll data from the state. That finding shows why former House Speaker Newt Gingrich won a solid victory, and also suggests the Romney camp may seek new ways to drive home its core message in the contests that lie ahead. In all three nominating contests so far, at least a plurality of voters have said...

Not even 24 hours passed before the Establishment hive was out in force this morning, after Newt Gingrich's stunning decimation of Mitt Romney in the South Carolina primary. Chris Christie said that Newt has been an embarrassment to the party. His political paramour, Ann Coulter (who endorsed Romney in 2008, then Christie this cycle, and now Romney again...three liberals in a row) deemed him the "least conservative" of the current field and the least electable, among other snarky and degrading comments I will not repeat. Paradoxically, She also repeated the old liberal saw that we need to reach to the...

"I think Newt Gingrich has embarrassed the party over time," Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) said on NBC's "Meet the Press" this morning. "Whether he'll do again in the future, I don't know. But Gov. Romney never has."

FOX News calls it for NEWT!! WOO HOO!!

Charleston, South Carolina (CNN) - With Newt Gingrich creeping up in the polls and potentially on the cusp of a South Carolina victory, one of Mitt Romney's senior advisers sought to change expectations ahead of Saturdays' pivotal presidential primary. Though his campaign has competed aggressively in the state and is hungry for a win here, Romney strategist Stuart Stevens said the idea of a loss to Gingrich on Saturday is not far-fetched. "Do I think we could lose South Carolina? Sure. Of course," Stevens told CNN after Thursday's presidential debate in Charleston. "The very idea that we are sting where...

NBC Chief White House Correspondent Chuck Todd is no fan of comedian Stephen Colbert's efforts to take part in Saturday's SC GOP presidential primary and how the media is covering the Charleston native's "exploratory campaign." "But what he's doing now, with the campaign -- is that fair to the process?" Todd continued. "Yes, the process is a mess. But he's doing it in a way that it feels as if he's trying to influence it with his own agenda that may be anti-Republican. And is that fair to the Republican Party?" Todd said Colbert and his Comedy Central satirical news...