Scott joins race for 1st District

Republican Tim Scott announced Monday he will halt his bid for lieutenant governor and run for the 1st Congressional District instead. He not only becomes the seventh Republican in the race but also is vying to become the first black Republican in Congress in six years.

"The ultimate contrast between Congress and my candidacy is it seems like the current administration has cast itself that you can spend your way out of a deficit. I strongly disagree," he said. "It seems like they believe that more spending is OK with higher taxes. I strongly disagree. It appears to me that our current environment says our government should take over health care disguised as reform, and I strongly disagree."

Scott, 44, served on Charleston County Council for 13 years before recently making history as the first black Republican state lawmaker in South Carolina since Reconstruction. He downplayed the racial significance of his new attempt to become the first black Republican congressman since former Rep. J.C. Watts left office in 2003.

"I think what I represent, more than a race, is a philosophy and a value system, so my focus will be on that philosophy of limited government and that value system that says a social and fiscal conservative is the best way for us to lead America back to the promised land," Scott said.

The GOP field, which includes the sons of deceased GOP legends Gov. Carroll Campbell and Sen. Strom Thurmond, has ballooned in recent weeks after incumbent Republican Rep. Henry Brown announced he would retire.

Carroll "Tumpy" Campbell issued a statement shortly after Scott announced his bid, saying Scott was "abandoning what appears to be a failed campaign for lieutenant governor. Mr. Scott is just another politician in a string, all scrambling over one another to get into a campaign I have been in for nearly a year."

Meanwhile, the GOP field could get even larger.

Mount Pleasant Town Councilman Ken Glasson, a Marine Corps veteran and businessman, said he has been encouraged to run and could enter the race later this week. "Sooner rather than later," he said.

It remains unclear how many will remain in the race by the time the filing period opens in mid March. The primary is June 8 and if no one gets more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff would be June 22.

Clemson University political science professor suggested Scott could learn a lesson by looking at the political success of the last black Republican in Congress.

"What J.C. Watts had was the sterling rhetoric and these deep-set convictions about God, country, family, and abortion -- and, of course, that football record at OU (Oklahoma University) helped," Dave Woodard said. "Tim will have to have something else besides just being a black guy. Some conviction he can stir the crowd with. That's what's going to seal the deal."

Scott had raised almost $300,000 for his lieutenant governor race, and he cannot transfer that war chest to a federal campaign. However, Scott said he planned to return the donations and expected many donors would then contribute anew to his congressional bid.

Other Republican candidates are Isle of Palms City Councilman Ryan Buckhannon, Campbell, GOP activist Katherine Jenerette of North Myrtle Beach, former Charleston County School Board member and lawyer Larry Kobrovsky, Charleston County Councilman and lawyer Paul Thurmond, and former Brown aide Stovall Witte.

Democratic candidates include commercial pilot Robert Burton of Mount Pleasant, businessman Robert Dobbs of Georgetown and retired accountant Dick Withington of Horry County. Jimmy Wood of Summerville, a member of the United States Air Force Reserve, is expected to run as an independent.

Reach Robert Behre at 937-5771 or at rbehre@postandcourier.com.