Jim DeMint

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Jim DeMint
Jim DeMint.jpg
United States Senator
from South Carolina
In office
January 3, 2005 – January 1, 2013
Preceded by Ernest Hollings
Succeeded by Tim Scott
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from South Carolina's 4th district
In office
January 3, 1999 – January 3, 2005
Preceded by Bob Inglis
Succeeded by Bob Inglis
Personal details
Born James Warren DeMint
(1951-09-02) September 2, 1951 (age 61)
Greenville, South Carolina, U.S.
Political party Republican
Alma mater University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Clemson University
Profession Businessman
Religion Presbyterian

James Warren "Jim" DeMint (born September 2, 1951) is an American politician who was a United States Senator from South Carolina from 2005 to 2013. He is a member of the Republican Party and a leading member in the Tea Party movement.[1][2][3] He previously served as the United States Representative for South Carolina's 4th congressional district from 1999 to 2005. On December 6, 2012, he announced plans to resign from the Senate on New Year's Day of 2013 to become president of The Heritage Foundation.[4]

Contents

Early life and education [edit]

DeMint was born in Greenville, South Carolina, one of four children. His parents, Betty W. (née Rawlings) and Thomas Eugene DeMint,[5] divorced when he was five years old.[6] Following the divorce, Betty DeMint operated a dance studio out of the family's home.[7][8]

DeMint was educated at Christ Church Episcopal School and Wade Hampton High School in Greenville. DeMint played drums for a cover band called Salt & Pepper.[9] He received a bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee, where he was a part of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity, and received a MBA from Clemson University.

DeMint's wife, the former Debbie Henderson, is one of three children of Greenville advertising entrepreneur James Marvin Henderson, Sr. (1921-1995).[10]

Business career [edit]

DeMint worked in the field of market research. In 1983 he founded The Demint Group, a research firm based in Greenville, and ran the company until 1998 when he entered Congress.[8]

U.S. Representative [edit]

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U.S. Senate [edit]

Committee assignments [edit]

Caucus memberships [edit]

Political positions [edit]

This section is incomplete. (March 2011)
This section is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. You can help by converting this section to prose, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (January 2013)
Jim DeMint speaking at rally for United States Senate candidate Rand Paul in October 2010

Political campaigns [edit]

1998 through 2002 [edit]

DeMint served as an informal advisor to Fourth District congressman Bob Inglis from 1993 to 1999.[25] When Inglis kept his promise to serve only three terms and gave up his seat to run for the Senate against Fritz Hollings. DeMint entered the Republican primary for the district, which includes Greenville and Spartanburg. The district is considered the most Republican in the state, and it was understood that whoever won the primary would be heavily favored to be the district's next congressman.

DeMint finished second in the primary behind State Senator and fellow Greenville resident Michael Fair, even though he didn't carry a single county in the district.[26] In the runoff, DeMint defeated Fair by only 2,030 votes.[27] He then defeated Democratic State Senator Glenn Reese with 57 percent of the vote to Reese's 40 percent--to date, the only time since 1992 that a Democrat has crossed the 40 percent mark in this district since Inglis recaptured it for the Republicans in 1992.[28] DeMint faced no major-party opposition in 2000, and defeated an underfunded Democrat in 2002.

2004 [edit]

Main article: United States Senate election in South Carolina, 2004

DeMint declared his candidacy for the Senate on December 12, 2002, after Hollings announced that he would retire after the 2004 elections. DeMint was supposedly the White House's preferred candidate in the Republican primary.

In the Republican primary on June 8, 2004, DeMint placed a distant second, 18 percentage points behind former governor David Beasley and just barely ahead of Thomas Ravenel. Ravenel endorsed DeMint in the following runoff. DeMint won the runoff handily, however.

DeMint then faced Democratic state education superintendent Inez Tenenbaum in the November general election. DeMint led Tenenbaum through much of the campaign and ultimately defeated her by 9.6 percentage points. DeMint's win meant that South Carolina was represented by two Republican Senators for the first time since Reconstruction, when Thomas J. Robertson and John J. Patterson served together as Senators.

DeMint stirred controversy during debates with Tenenbaum when he stated his belief that openly gay people should not be allowed to teach in public schools. When questioned by reporters, DeMint also stated that single mothers who live with their boyfriends should similarly be excluded from being educators.[29][30] He later apologized for making the remarks, saying they were "distracting from the main issues of the debate." He also noted that these were opinions based on his personal values, not issues he would or could deal with as a member of Congress.[31] In a 2008 interview, he said that while government does not have the right to restrict homosexuality, it also should not encourage it through legalizing same-sex marriage, due to the "costly secondary consequences" to society from the prevalence of certain diseases among homosexuals.[32]

Jim DeMint (R) 53.7%
Inez Tenenbaum (D) 44.1%
Patrick Tyndall (Constitution) 0.8%
Rebekah Sutherland (Libertarian) 0.7%
Tee Ferguson (United Citizens Party) 0.4%
Efia Nwangaza (Green) 0.3%

2010 [edit]

Main article: United States Senate election in South Carolina, 2010
DeMint campaigning in Erlanger, Kentucky with Congressman Ron Paul of Texas for Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Congressman Geoff Davis of Kentucky in 2010.

DeMint won re-nomination in the Republican Party primary. Democratic Party opponent Alvin Greene won an upset primary victory over Vic Rawl, who was heavily favored. Due to various electoral discrepancies, Greene received scrutiny from Democratic Party officials, with some calling for Greene to withdraw or be replaced.[33] DeMint consistently led Greene by more than 30 points throughout the campaign and won reelection by a landslide.

Prior to the 2010 elections, DeMint founded the Senate Conservatives Fund (SCF), a political action committee that is "dedicated to electing strong conservatives to the United States Senate" and that is associated with the Tea Party movement.[34][35][36] As of February 2011, DeMint continued to serve as Chair of SCF, which states that it raised $9.1 million toward the 2010 U.S. Senate elections and which endorsed successful first-time Senate candidates Pat Toomey, Rand Paul, Mike Lee, Ron Johnson, Marco Rubio .[37] DeMint also supported Joe Miller of Alaska through the SCF. Miller was an attorney and former federal magistrate and the Tea Party's candidate opposing Lisa Murkowski the incumbent senator in the Alaska primary. Miller won in a close election, however Murkowski ran as a write in candidate and won the election by 39.1% to Miller's 35.1% and by a popular vote of 101,091 to 90,839 respectively.

On October 1, 2010, DeMint, in comments that echoed what he had said in 2004, told a rally of his supporters that openly homosexual and unmarried sexually active people should not be teachers.[38] In response, the National Organization for Women, the National Education Association, the gay rights group Human Rights Campaign, GOProud, a GOP group, and National Gay and Lesbian Task Force asked for Demint’s apology.[29][39]

The Heritage Foundation [edit]

On December 6, 2012, he announced he will resign from the Senate before the new 113th Congress begins in early January 2013 to become president of The Heritage Foundation.[4][40] On December 17, 2012, South Carolina's governor Nikki Haley announced that she would name Congressman Tim Scott to the seat the U.S. Senate from which DeMint resigned.[41] A special election will be held on November 4, 2014 fill the remainder of the term.

Bibliography [edit]

  • Why We Whisper: Restoring Our Right to Say It's Wrong (co-authored with J. David Woodard, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, December 6, 2007)
  • Jim DeMint (2009-07). Saving Freedom: We Can Stop America's Slide Into Socialism. Fidelis. ISBN 978-0-8054-4957-0. 
  • Jim DeMint (2011-07-04). The Great American Awakening: Two Years that Changed America, Washington, and Me. B&H Books. ISBN 978-1-4336-7279-8. 
  • Now or Never: Saving America from Economic Collapse (Center Street, 2012)

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ DiStaso, John (November 9, 2011). "Santorum on nuclear Iran: 'There's no negotiating with these radicals, we have to stop them'". The Union Leader (Manchester, N.H). "National conservative leaders, such as Tea Party leader South Carolina U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, ..." 
  2. ^ "Defining Romney: 'Multiple Choice Mitt' needs to be true to himself". Financial Times (London). November 8, 2011. p. 12. "... Tea Party figures such as Jim DeMint, ..." 
  3. ^ Vets bill held up by Lejeune toxic water issue
  4. ^ a b Henninger, Daniel. Sen. Jim DeMint to Head Heritage Foundation, Washington Post, December 6, 2012.
  5. ^ Jim DeMint | TheMediaBriefing
  6. ^ JimDemint Tag - Politics Daily - Politics News, Elections Coverage, Political Analysis and Opinion
  7. ^ How Old Is Jim DeMint?
  8. ^ a b "12 in 2012: Senator Jim DeMint " The Special Report Blog". Fox News. November 9, 2010. 
  9. ^ Miller, John J. (February 22, 2010). "Senator Tea Party". Hey Miller. [self-published source?]
  10. ^ "Legacy of Leadership: James M. Henderson (1921-1995)". knowitall.org. Retrieved June 4, 2012. 
  11. ^ "Senate Leaders Announce Bipartisan Committee To Investigate Judge G. Thomas Porteous" (Press release). Senate Democratic Caucus. 2010-03-17. Retrieved 2010-04-29. 
  12. ^ "Jim DeMint SC-Senate (R)". 2008 Vote Ratings. National Journal. 
  13. ^ Kornacki, Steve (2011-05-12) Why healthcare may not doom Mitt Romney after all, Salon.com
  14. ^ Franklin, Charles (March 5, 2007). "National Journal 2006 Liberal/Conservative Scores". Political Arithmetik. [self-published source?]
  15. ^ "2007 Vote Ratings". National Journal. March 7, 2007. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. 
  16. ^ Kellman, Laurie, "DeMint steers the tea party bandwagon: Balanced-budget focus shapes debate," Associated Press, The Greenville News, 11 July 2011, p. 7B.
  17. ^ a b c "Jim DeMint on the Issues". Ontheissues.org. Retrieved 2010-08-29. 
  18. ^ Senator Jim W. DeMint at Project Vote Smart. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
  19. ^ Jim DeMint on War & Peace
  20. ^ PEOPLE[dead link]
  21. ^ Lee, Carol E. (October 2, 2009). "Democrats target Jim DeMint's Honduras trip". Politico. 
  22. ^ Carty, Daniel (December 30, 2009). "DeMint: Obama 'Has Downplayed Terrorism'". CBS News. 
  23. ^ U.S. Senate: Legislation & Records Home > Votes > Roll Call Vote
  24. ^ "U.S. Senate: Legislation & Records Home > Votes > Roll Call Vote". Senate.gov. Retrieved 2010-08-29. 
  25. ^ Biography on DeMint's House site
  26. ^ Our Campaigns - SC District 04 - R Primary Race - Jun 09, 1998
  27. ^ Our Campaigns - SC District 04 - R Primary Run-Off Race - Jun 23, 1998
  28. ^ Our Campaigns - SC District 4 Race - Nov 03, 1998
  29. ^ a b Kinnard, Meg. ["Gay, women’s groups want apology from DeMint"], Associated Press, The State, 7 October 2010.[dead link]
  30. ^ Radnofsky, Louise; Phillips, Michael M. (November 11, 2010). "The Big Read: As U.S. political split widened, a friendship fell into the rift". Wall Street Journal. p. 16. 
  31. ^ Hoover, Dan. "DeMint apologizes after remarks on gays"[dead link], Greenville News, 6 October 2004.
  32. ^ Demint, Jim. Remarks to Diane Rehm, The Diane Rehm Show, National Public Radio, 31 January 2008.
  33. ^ Lach, Eric (June 9, 2010). "SC Dems Asks Alvin Greene To Withdraw From Senate Race". Talking Points Memo. 
  34. ^ Senate Conservatives Fund — About
  35. ^ McConnell's Repeal Vote Rallies the Base - Chris Good - Politics - The Atlantic
  36. ^ DeMint to Iowa amid denials of presidential run - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room
  37. ^ Senate Conservatives Fund
  38. ^ Shackleford, Lynne P. "DeMint addresses conservative issues at Spartanburg church rally", 2 October 2010.
  39. ^ Terkel, Amanda. "Teachers Unions Pile on DeMint: 'Ignorance and Hate Go Hand In Hand'", Huffington Post, 7 October 2010.
  40. ^ Paul Kane & David Fahrenthold (December 6, 2012). "Jim DeMint to head conservative think tank". Washington Post. 
  41. ^ Steinhauer, Jennifer & Jeff Zeleny. Tim Scott to Be Named for Empty South Carolina Senate Seat, Republicans Say, New York Times, December 17, 2012.

External links [edit]

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
Bob Inglis		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from South Carolina's 4th congressional district
1999–2005		 Succeeded by
Bob Inglis
Party political offices
Preceded by
Bob Inglis		 Republican nominee for U.S. Senator from South Carolina
(Class 3)
2004, 2010		 Most recent
United States Senate
Preceded by
Ernest Hollings		 U.S. Senator (Class 3) from South Carolina
2005–2013
Served alongside: Lindsey Graham		 Succeeded by
Tim Scott
Class 2
United States Senate
Class 3
Authority control
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