Jim DeMint
| Jim DeMint | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2005 Serving with Lindsey Graham |
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| Preceded by | Ernest Hollings |
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| In office January 3, 1999 – January 3, 2005 |
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| Preceded by | Bob Inglis |
| Succeeded by | Bob Inglis |
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| Born | September 2, 1951 Greenville, South Carolina |
| Political party | Republican Party (United States) |
| Spouse(s) | Debbie DeMint |
| Residence | Greenville, South Carolina |
| Alma mater | University of Tennessee, Clemson University |
| Occupation | marketing consultant |
| Religion | Presbyterian |
James Warren "Jim" DeMint (born September 2, 1951) has been a United States Senator from South Carolina since 2005. He had previously represented South Carolina's 4th congressional district from 1999 to 2005. DeMint is ranked by some as one of the most conservative members of the Senate.[1]
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[edit] Early life, education, and early career
DeMint was born in Greenville, South Carolina, one of four children. DeMint's parents, Betty W. (née Rawlings) and Thomas Eugene DeMint,[2] divorced when he was five. His mother operated a dance studio. DeMint was educated at the Christ Church Episcopal School, Greenville, South Carolina and Wade Hampton High School in Greenville. DeMint played drums for a cover band called Salt & Pepper.[3] He received a bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee and an M.B.A. from Clemson University.
Prior to entering politics, DeMint worked in the field of market research. In 1983, he founded his own research firm, the DeMint Group. He was president of this corporation until 1998.
DeMint married his high school sweetheart, Debbie Henderson, on September 1, 1973; the couple have four children.
[edit] U.S. House of Representatives
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] U.S. Senate
[edit] Political positions and actions
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DeMint's main work has been opposing the increase of Federal government spending, both under the Bush and Obama Administrations. He was opposed to federal bailouts for banks and other corporations. For his stances on budgetary issues, DeMint has been strongly supported by the conservative political group Club for Growth. He was ranked as the most conservative United States Senator by National Journal in 2007[4] and 2008.[5]
Senator DeMint has been a consistent supporter of school prayer and has introduced legislation that would allow schools to display banners such as one stating "God Bless America".[6]
Senator DeMint opposes abortion except in the case of the mother's life being endangered.[6][7]
Senator DeMint is a member of the C Street Family, a Christian prayer group which includes many prominent Republican and Democratic members of Congress.[citation needed]
On the issue of immigration, Senator DeMint favors requiring all illegal immigrants in the United States to return to their home countries and apply for legal residency.[citation needed] He is in favor of establishing English as the country's official language.[6]
On February 6, 2008 Senator DeMint was joined by senators Saxby Chambliss, Tom Coburn, John Cornyn, James Inhofe, and David Vitter for the introduction of the Semper Fi Act of 2008 which would strip federal funding from Berkeley, California in response to the Berkeley Marine Corps Recruiting Center controversy. The bill would have eliminated $2.1 million in earmarks for the city and the University of California, Berkeley and would have instead directed the funds to the Marine Corps Recruiting Fund. The bill was defeated by a 74-25 vote, however the Mayor of Berkeley eventually apologized to the Marines for the city's actions.[8]
Senator DeMint was one of two Senators, along with David Vitter, to vote against Hillary Clinton's confirmation to become the United States Secretary of State.
Senator DeMint went to Honduras in 2009 and met with de facto president Roberto Micheletti, a meeting that was opposed by President Obama's administration. The United States officially viewed ousted president Manuel Zelaya as the legitimately elected president.[9]
Following an attempted terrorist attack on December 25, 2009, DeMint criticized President Barack Obama for lacking focus on terrorism since taking office and for failing to appoint a head of the Transportation Security Administration, even though Senator DeMint had blocked President Obama's nominee to head this administration 3 times before.[10]
[edit] Committee assignments
- Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
- Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
- Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security (Ranking Member)
- Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet
- Subcommittee on Competitiveness, Innovation, and Export Promotion
- Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance
- Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security
- Committee on Foreign Relations
- Joint Economic Committee
- Impeachment Trial Committee on the Articles against Judge G. Thomas Porteous, Jr.[11]
[edit] Bibliography
In 2009, DeMint authored a book entitled Saving Freedom: We Can Stop America's Slide into Socialism (Fidelis, Nashville, 2009).
[edit] Campaign finances
From 2001 to 2006, DeMint’s largest campaign donors came from retired individuals ($877,062 in donations) and health professionals ($612,923).[12] From 2003 to 2008, his largest donors once again came from retired individuals ($997,861) and health professionals ($697,986).[13]
[edit] Electoral history
[edit] 2004 election
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. 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.[14] 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.[15]
2004 South Carolina United States Senate election
| 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 election
DeMint won re-nomination in the Republican Party primary. Democratic Party opponent Alvin Greene won an upset victory over Vic Rawl, who was heavily favored. Due to various electoral discrepancies, Greene is receiving scrutiny from Democratic Party officials, with some calling for Greene to withdraw or be replaced.[citation needed]
Tom Clements is the nominee of the South Carolina Green Party, and will be the only third party candidate on the ballot.[16]
[edit] References
- ^ "2008 Vote Ratings", National Journal
- ^ demint
- ^ John J. Miller, Senator Tea Party, National Review, February 22, 2010
- ^ Political Arithmetik: National Journal 2006 Liberal/Conservative Scores
- ^ NATIONAL JOURNAL: 2007 Vote Ratings (03/07/2007)
- ^ a b c http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/jim_demint.htm
- ^ Senator Jim W. DeMint at Project Vote Smart (accessed June 25, 2010).
- ^ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,329866,00.html
- ^ Democrats target Jim DeMint's Honduras trip
- ^ DeMint: Obama "Has Downplayed Terrorism"
- ^ Senate Democratic Caucus (2010-03-17). "Senate Leaders Announce Bipartisan Committee To Investigate Judge G. Thomas Porteous". Press release. http://democrats.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=323186&. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
- ^ http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cid=N00002472&cycle=2006 OpenSecrets, Center for Responsive Politics
- ^ http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cycle=2008&type=I&cid=N00002472&newMem=N Center for Responsive Politics
- ^ Dan Hoover, "DeMint apologizes after remarks on gays", Greenville News, October 6, 2004
- ^ Demint, Jim, Remarks to Diane Rehm, 'The Diane Rehm Show', National Public Radio, January 31, 2008
- ^ http://www.clementsforsenate.com
[edit] External links
- United States Senator James W DeMint official Senate site
- Jim DeMint for US Senator official campaign site
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
- Congressional profile at GovTrack.us
- Appearances on C-SPAN programs
- Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
- Current Bills Sponsored at StateSurge.com
- Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
- Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
- Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
- Collected news and commentary at The New York Times
- Profile at SourceWatch
| 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 |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Bob Inglis |
Republican Party nominee for United States Senator from South Carolina (Class 3) 2004, 2010 |
Succeeded by Current nominee |
| United States order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by Richard Burr R-North Carolina |
United States Senators by seniority 66th |
Succeeded by Tom Coburn R-Oklahoma |
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