Jim DeMint

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Jim DeMint
United States Senator
from South Carolina
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2005
Serving with Lindsey Graham
Preceded by Ernest Hollings
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 60)
Greenville, South Carolina
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Debbie DeMint
Residence Greenville, South Carolina
Alma mater University of Tennessee (B.A.)
Clemson University (M.B.A.)
Occupation Marketing consultant
Religion Presbyterian (PCA)
Website www.demint.senate.gov

James Warren "Jim" DeMint (born September 2, 1951) is the junior United States Senator from South Carolina, serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party and a leading member in the Tea Party movement.[1][2] He previously served as the United States Representative for South Carolina's 4th congressional district from 1999 to 2005.

Contents

[edit] Early life and education

DeMint was born in Greenville, South Carolina, one of four children. His parents, Betty W. (née Rawlings) and Thomas Eugene DeMint,[3] divorced when he was five years old.[4] Following the divorce, Betty DeMint operated a dance studio out of the family's home.[5][6]

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.[7] 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.

[edit] Business career

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.[6]

[edit] U. S. Representative

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[edit] U.S. Senate

[edit] Committee assignments

[edit] Caucus memberships

[edit] Political positions

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 Please expand this article. More information might be found in a section of the talk page. (March 2011)
Jim DeMint speaking at rally for United States Senate candidate Rand Paul in October 2010

[edit] Political campaigns

[edit] 1998 through 2002

In 1998, Fourth District Congressman Bob Inglis kept his promise to serve only three terms, by running against Senator Fritz Hollings. DeMint won the Republican primary for the district, which includes Greenville and Spartanburg. He then went on to win the general election in November. The district is considered the most Republican in the state, and he did not face a serious or well-funded Democratic opponent in 1998 or in his two re-election campaigns in 2000 and 2002.[citation needed]

[edit] 2004

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. 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.[22][23] 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.[24] 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.[25]

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%

[edit] 2010

Main article: United States Senate election in South Carolina, 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.[26] DeMint consistently led Greene by more than 30 points throughout the campaign and won reelection by a landslide.

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.

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.[27][28][29] 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 .[30] 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 electionby 39.1% to Miller's 35.1% and by a popular vote of 101,091 to 90,839 respectively.

DeMint plans to retire in 2016 after serving his second term.[31]

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.[32] 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.[22][33]

In March 2010, About.com, owned by The New York Times Company, named DeMint one of the top 20 conservatives to follow on Twitter.[34]

[edit] Works

[edit] References

  1. ^ DiStaso, John (9 Nov 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): p. 12. 08 Nov 2011. "... Tea Party figures such as Jim DeMint, ..." 
  3. ^ Jim DeMint | TheMediaBriefing
  4. ^ JimDemint Tag - Politics Daily - Politics News, Elections Coverage, Political Analysis and Opinion
  5. ^ How Old Is Jim DeMint?
  6. ^ a b "12 in 2012: Senator Jim DeMint " The Special Report Blog". Fox News. November 9, 2010. http://specialreport.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/11/09/12-in-2010-senator-jim-demint/. 
  7. ^ Miller, John J. (February 22, 2010). "Senator Tea Party". Hey Miller. http://www.heymiller.com/?p=1141. [self-published source?]
  8. ^ "Senate Leaders Announce Bipartisan Committee To Investigate Judge G. Thomas Porteous" (Press release). Senate Democratic Caucus. 2010-03-17. http://democrats.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=323186&. Retrieved 2010-04-29. 
  9. ^ "Jim DeMint SC-Senate (R)". 2008 Vote Ratings. National Journal. http://www.nationaljournal.com/2008voteratings?person=400105. 
  10. ^ Kornacki, Steve (2011-05-12) Why healthcare may not doom Mitt Romney after all, Salon.com
  11. ^ Franklin, Charles (March 5, 2007). "National Journal 2006 Liberal/Conservative Scores". Political Arithmetik. http://politicalarithmetik.blogspot.com/2007/03/national-journal-2006.html. [self-published source?]
  12. ^ "2007 Vote Ratings". National Journal. March 7, 2007. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. http://web.archive.org/web/20110723033048/http://www.nationaljournal.com/voteratings/sen/cons.htm. 
  13. ^ Kellman, Laurie, "DeMint steers the tea party bandwagon: Balanced-budget focus shapes debate," Associated Press, The Greenville News, 11 July 2011, p. 7B.
  14. ^ a b c "Jim DeMint on the Issues". Ontheissues.org. http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/jim_demint.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-29. 
  15. ^ Senator Jim W. DeMint at Project Vote Smart. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
  16. ^ Jim DeMint on War & Peace
  17. ^ PEOPLE[dead link]
  18. ^ Lee, Carol E. (October 2, 2009). "Democrats target Jim DeMint's Honduras trip". Politico. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/27862.html. 
  19. ^ Carty, Daniel (December 30, 2009). "DeMint: Obama 'Has Downplayed Terrorism'". CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-6037313-503544.html. 
  20. ^ U.S. Senate: Legislation & Records Home > Votes > Roll Call Vote
  21. ^ "U.S. Senate: Legislation & Records Home > Votes > Roll Call Vote". Senate.gov. http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=2&vote=00105. Retrieved 2010-08-29. 
  22. ^ a b Kinnard, Meg. ["Gay, women’s groups want apology from DeMint"], Associated Press, The State, 7 October 2010.[dead link]
  23. ^ 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. 
  24. ^ Hoover, Dan. "DeMint apologizes after remarks on gays"[dead link], Greenville News, 6 October 2004.
  25. ^ Demint, Jim. Remarks to Diane Rehm, The Diane Rehm Show, National Public Radio, 31 January 2008.
  26. ^ Lach, Eric (June 9, 2010). "SC Dems Asks Alvin Greene To Withdraw From Senate Race". Talking Points Memo. http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/06/sc-dems-asks-alvin-greene-to-withdraw-from-senate-race.php. 
  27. ^ Senate Conservatives Fund — About
  28. ^ McConnell's Repeal Vote Rallies the Base - Chris Good - Politics - The Atlantic
  29. ^ DeMint to Iowa amid denials of presidential run - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room
  30. ^ Senate Conservatives Fund
  31. ^ "Sen. DeMint relishes role as kingmaker". The Hill. 2010-09-15. http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/119115-sen-demint-relishes-role-as-kingmaker. 
  32. ^ Shackleford, Lynne P. "DeMint addresses conservative issues at Spartanburg church rally", 2 October 2010.
  33. ^ Terkel, Amanda. "Teachers Unions Pile on DeMint: 'Ignorance and Hate Go Hand In Hand'", Huffington Post, 7 October 2010.
  34. ^ "Top Conservatives on Twitter", About.com, The New York Times Company, March 7, 2010.

[edit] External links

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
United States Senate
Preceded by
Ernest F. "Fritz" Hollings		 United States Senator (Class 3) from South Carolina
2005–present
Served alongside: Lindsey Graham		 Incumbent
United States order of precedence
Preceded by
Richard Burr
R-North Carolina		 United States Senators by seniority
53rd		 Succeeded by
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