Tim Scott

Biography

Overview

Tim Scott is a Republican U.S. Senator from South Carolina serving since 2013. He is the first African-American senator in the Southern United States to be directly elected, the longest-serving African-American senator in U.S. history, the first African-American to serve in both the House and Senate, and the first African-American senator to chair a full committee. Born in Charleston in 1965, Scott previously worked in financial services and served on Charleston County Council and in the South Carolina House of Representatives before his election to the U.S. House in 2011.

Career

Scott led the drafting of the Justice Act, a 106-page police reform bill that increased reporting requirements for use of force, funded police body cameras, created a federal lynching crime, and directed Justice Department training on deescalation. Though Democrats blocked it with a filibuster, it received 55 votes. He successfully advocated for $300 million in federal funding for a Charleston harbor dredging project and co-sponsored bipartisan legislation in 2018 with Cory Booker and Kamala Harris to make lynching a federal hate crime. He challenged judicial nominees over civil rights concerns, opposing Ryan Bounds and Thomas A. Farr.

Prior political experience

Scott was appointed to the Senate in December 2012 by Governor Nikki Haley to replace retiring Senator Jim DeMint. He won a special election in 2014 to serve the final two years of DeMint's term, then was elected to a full term in 2016 and reelected in 2022, defeating Democratic nominee Krystle Matthews. Prior to the Senate, Scott served in the U.S. House from 2011 to 2013, winning his 2010 primary runoff against Paul Thurmond 68–32% and his general election against Ben Frasier 65–29%. He was unopposed in the 2012 House primary. Scott also ran for president in 2024, announcing his candidacy in May 2023 and suspending his campaign in November 2023 due to low polling numbers.

Biographical material adapted from the Wikipedia article (retrieved April 29, 2026), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Ideology

Liberal–Conservative (DW-NOMINATE dim 1)

Liberal

Conservative

119th Congress+0.629

Secondary axis (DW-NOMINATE dim 2)(?)

−1

+1

+0.023

Source: Voteview DW-NOMINATE · 654 scored votes

Campaigns targeting Tim Scott

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Officeholding history

Term	Seat	Term dates	Termination	Predecessor	Successor
4th	U.S. Senate SC Class 3	2023–present	In progress	Tim Scott	—
3rd	U.S. Senate SC Class 3	2017–2023	Term ended	Tim Scott	Tim Scott
2nd	U.S. Senate SC Class 3	2015–2017	Term ended	Tim Scott	Tim Scott
1st	U.S. Senate SC Class 3	2013–2015	Term ended	—	Tim Scott
1st	U.S. House SC-1	2011–2013	Term ended	—	Nancy Mace

Committee assignments

Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
SenateChairman· 2023–present
Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure
Senate· 2023–present
Employment and Workplace Safety
Senate· 2023–present
Health Care
Senate· 2023–present
Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Senate· 2023–present
International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness
Senate· 2023–present
Education and the American Family
Senate· 2023–present
National Security and International Trade and Finance
SenateEx Officio· 2023–present
Senate Committee on Finance
Senate· 2023–present
Digital Assets
SenateEx Officio· 2023–present
Economic Policy
SenateEx Officio· 2023–present
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Senate· 2023–present
Housing, Transportation, and Community Development
SenateEx Officio· 2023–present
Securities, Insurance, and Investment
SenateEx Officio· 2023–present
Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection
SenateEx Officio· 2023–present

Current term legislation

Bills sponsored this term10

Bills cosponsored this term10

Elections

Year	Seat	Result	Vote share	Field
—	—	Pending	—	—