Jim DeMint
James W. "Jim" DeMint (born September 2 1951) is a U.S. Senator from South Carolina since 2005. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing the fourth district of South Carolina for three terms, from 1999 until 2005. He is a member of the United States Republican Party. Upon taking office in the Senate in January 2005, DeMint became a member of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the Committee on Environment and Public Works, the Special Committee on Aging, and the Joint Economic Committee.
DeMint was born in Greenville, South Carolina and educated at Wade Hampton High School in Greenville, the University of Tennessee and Clemson University. He was a business owner before being elected to Congress for the first time in 1998.
DeMint declared his candidacy for the Senate on December 12, 2002. DeMint placed second in the South Carolina Republican primary election on June 8, 2004. On June 22, 2004 he won a run-off election against former South Carolina Governor David Beasley to win the Republican nomination to replace Senator Ernest "Fritz" Hollings in the US Senate.
DeMint's candidacy drew public attention because of the positions he took. DeMint favored eliminating the IRS and Federal income tax. Additionally, he had sponsored legislation in the House of Representatives that would replace the current system with a 23% national sales tax on all goods and services. He claimed he had signed onto the legislation "to advance the debate" on tax reform, and that he did not specifically favor that version of reform over others. DeMint also stirred controversy during debates with Democratic nominee Inez 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. DeMint later noted that these were opinions based on his personal values; not issues he would or could deal with as a member of the United States Congress. He also favored banning all forms of abortion.
On November 2, 2004, DeMint defeated Tenenbaum by 9.6 percentage points.
| Preceded by: Fritz Hollings (D) | U.S. Senator South Carolina | Followed by: Currently in office |