2014 United States Senate special election in South Carolina

The 2014 United States Senate special election in South Carolina took place on November 4, 2014, concurrently with the regular election for the other South Carolina Senate seat. The special-election Senate seat was formerly held by Republican Jim DeMint, who resigned on January 2, 2013, to become president of The Heritage Foundation.

Nikki Haley, the Republican Governor of South Carolina, announced the appointment of U.S. Representative Tim Scott to fill the seat. Scott ran in the special election and won by beating Democratic candidate and Richland County councilwoman Joyce Dickerson in the November election. Scott became the first black Senator in the state's history and the first in a former Confederate state since 1881.

The election was noted for being the second U.S. Senate election since the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment and the first in a former Confederate state where both major party nominees were black. This was also the first of three consecutive elections to this seat where both major party nominees were black.

Background
On December 6, 2012, Senator Jim DeMint announced his intention to resign effective January 1, 2013, to become the president of The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.

Nikki Haley, the Governor of South Carolina, appointed a replacement to fill the seat until the special election. Haley indicated that she would not appoint a "placeholder" to the seat, but would appoint someone who would stand in a 2014 special election to serve the remaining two years of DeMint's term. On December 17, 2012, Haley announced that she would appoint Scott to DeMint's seat following his resignation.

Senate replacement process
According to sources close to Governor Haley, as of December 11, 2012, she had narrowed the list of potential appointees down to five:


 * Tim Scott, U.S. Representative (SC-01)
 * Trey Gowdy, U.S. Representative (SC-04)
 * Henry McMaster, former South Carolina Attorney General,
 * Jenny Sanford, former First Lady of South Carolina
 * Catherine Templeton, head of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.

Other politicians mentioned as possible replacements for DeMint included U.S. Representatives Mick Mulvaney and Joe Wilson, former U.S. Representative Gresham Barrett, state representative Nathan Ballentine, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, former Ambassador to Canada David Wilkins, former South Carolina Republican Party chair Katon Dawson, and Haley's deputy chief of staff Tedd Pitts.

Liberal comedian Stephen Colbert, a South Carolina native, expressed interest in being appointed the seat, asking his fans to tweet Haley that she should appoint him. Chad Walldorf, the owner of the Sticky Fingers restaurant chain, had also been mentioned as a potential placeholder.

Polling on DeMint's replacement
A Public Policy Polling poll released on December 10, 2012, which asked respondents who they wanted to replace DeMint, showed Colbert with the highest total. Colbert had support at 20 percent, followed by Scott at 15 percent, Gowdy at 14 percent, and Sanford at 11 percent. Haley said that she would not appoint Colbert to the seat.

Declared

 * Tim Scott, incumbent U.S. Senator
 * Randall Young

Declared

 * Joyce Dickerson, Richland County Councilwoman and former chair of the National Foundation for Women Legislators
 * Sidney Moore, former York County Councilman
 * Harry Pavilack, attorney and candidate for South Carolina's 7th congressional district in 2012

Withdrew

 * Rick Wade, former United States Department of Commerce official and nominee for Secretary of State of South Carolina in 2002

Declined

 * Jim Hodges, former governor of South Carolina
 * John L. Scott, Jr., state senator
 * James E. Smith, Jr., state representative (running for re-election)
 * Leon Stavrinakis, state representative (running for re-election)

Declared

 * Jill Bossi (American Party), vice president of the American Red Cross

Removed from ballot

 * Brandon Armstrong (Independent), businesswoman

Debates

 * Complete video of debate, October 28, 2014

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

 * Calhoun (largest town: St. Matthews)
 * Clarendon (Largest city: Manning)
 * Sumter (Largest city: Sumter)
 * Richland (Largest city: Columbia)