Jim DeMint
Encyclopedia
James Warren "Jim" DeMint (born September 2, 1951) is the junior U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 from South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

, serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 and a leader in the Tea Party movement
Tea Party movement
The Tea Party movement is an American populist political movement that is generally recognized as conservative and libertarian, and has sponsored protests and supported political candidates since 2009...

. He previously served as the U.S. Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 for from 1999 to 2005.

Early life and education

DeMint was born in Greenville
Greenville, South Carolina
-Law and government:The city of Greenville adopted the Council-Manager form of municipal government in 1976.-History:The area was part of the Cherokee Nation's protected grounds after the Treaty of 1763, which ended the French and Indian War. No White man was allowed to enter, though some families...

, South Carolina, one of four children. His parents, Betty W. (née Rawlings) and Thomas Eugene DeMint, divorced when he was five years old. Following the divorce, Betty DeMint operated a dance studio out of the family's home.

DeMint was educated at Christ Church Episcopal School
Christ Church Episcopal School
Christ Church Episcopal School is an independent school in Greenville, South Carolina serving approximately 1,000 students in grades P-12. Located on a 72-acre campus, the campus is home to eight major buildings: Lower School , Middle School , Upper School Christ Church Episcopal School (CCES) is...

 and Wade Hampton High School in Greenville. DeMint played drums for a cover band
Cover band
A cover band , is a band that plays mostly or exclusively cover songs. New or unknown bands often find the cover band format marketable for smaller gigs, and these bands may be known as a wedding band, party band and function band. A band whose covers consist mainly of songs that were chart hits is...

 called Salt & Pepper. He received a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...

  from the University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...

 and an MBA
Master of Business Administration
The Master of Business Administration is a :master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out...

 from Clemson University
Clemson University
Clemson University is an American public, coeducational, land-grant, sea-grant, research university located in Clemson, South Carolina, United States....

.

Business career

DeMint worked in the field of market research
Market research
Market research is any organized effort to gather information about markets or customers. It is a very important component of business strategy...

. In 1983, he founded his own research firm, The DeMint Group. Based in Greenville, it had four employees. DeMint ran the company until 1998 when he entered Congress.

Committee assignments

  • Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
    United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
    The United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs has jurisdiction over matters related to: banks and banking, price controls, deposit insurance, export promotion and controls, federal monetary policy, financial aid to commerce and industry, issuance of redemption of notes,...

    • Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development
      United States Senate Banking Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development
      The Senate Banking Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development is one of five subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.-Jurisdiction:...

      (Ranking Member
      Ranking member
      In United States politics, a ranking member is the second-most senior member of a congressional or state legislative committee from the majority party. Another usage refers to the most senior member of a congressional or state legislative committee from the minority party. This second usage, often...

      )
    • Subcommittee on Financial Institutions
      United States Senate Banking Subcommittee on Financial Institutions
      The Senate Banking Subcommittee on Financial Institutions is one of five subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.-Jurisdiction:...

  • Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
    United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
    The United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is a standing committee of the United States Senate in charge of all senate matters related to the following subjects:* Coast Guard* Coastal zone management* Communications...

    • Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
      United States Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
      The Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security is one of the seven subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation-Members, 112th Congress:...

       (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
    United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
    The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It is charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. The Foreign Relations Committee is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid programs as...

    • Subcommittee on African Affairs
      United States Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs
      The Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs is one of seven subcommittees of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.-Jurisdiction:...

    • Subcommittee on International Operations and Organizations, Democracy and Human Rights
    • Subcommittee on European Affairs
      United States Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on European Affairs
      The Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on European Affairs is one of seven subcommittees of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.-Jurisdiction:...

       (Ranking Member)
    • Subcommittee on International Development and Foreign Assistance, Economic Affairs and International Environmental Protection
  • Joint Economic Committee
    United States Congress Joint Economic Committee
    The Joint Economic Committee is one of four standing joint committees of the U.S. Congress. The committee was established as a part of the Employment Act of 1946, which deemed the committee responsible for reporting the current economic condition of the United States and for making suggestions...

  • Impeachment Trial Committee on the Articles against Judge G. Thomas Porteous, Jr.
    Thomas Porteous
    Gabriel Thomas Porteous, Jr. is a former United States federal judge who served for sixteen years before being impeached and removed from office in December 2010.-Background:...


Caucus memberships

  • Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus
  • International Conservation Caucus
    United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus
    The U.S. Congressional International Conservation Caucus is a bipartisan congressional organization that was founded in September 2003 with the conviction that “the United States of America has the opportunity, the obligation and the interests to advance the conservation of natural resources for...

  • Tea Party Caucus
    Tea Party Caucus
    The Tea Party Caucus is a caucus of the United States House of Representatives and Senate launched and chaired by Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann on July 16, 2010. The caucus is dedicated to promoting what it considers fiscal responsibility, adherence to the movement's interpretation of...


Political positions

  • DeMint is ranked by The National Journal as one of the most conservative members of the Senate. Salon.com
    Salon.com
    Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...

    has called him "perhaps the most conservative member of the Senate."
  • DeMint opposes spending increases
    Deficit spending
    Deficit spending is the amount by which a government, private company, or individual's spending exceeds income over a particular period of time, also called simply "deficit," or "budget deficit," the opposite of budget surplus....

     of the federal government. He opposed federal bailouts
    Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
    The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (Division A of , commonly referred to as a bailout of the U.S. financial system, is a law enacted in response to the subprime mortgage crisis...

     for banks and automobile corporations.
  • DeMint favors a balanced-budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
  • Senator DeMint has been a consistent supporter of organized and led school prayer
    School prayer
    School prayer in its common usage refers to state-approved prayer by students in state schools. Depending on the country and the type of school, organized prayer may be required, permitted, or prohibited...

     and has introduced legislation that would allow schools to display banners such as one stating "God Bless America
    God Bless America
    "God Bless America" is an American patriotic song written by Irving Berlin in 1918 and revised by him in 1938. The later version has notably been recorded by Kate Smith, becoming her signature song ....

    ".
  • DeMint opposes abortion
    Abortion
    Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...

    , including in cases of rape and incest. He approves of abortion only when the mother's life is in danger.
  • DeMint favors requiring all illegal immigrants in the United States to either return to their home countries or apply for legal residency. He is in favor of establishing the English language
    English language
    English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

     as the country's official language.


  • Demint opposed the NATO intervention into Kosovo
    Kosovo War
    The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...

     but supported the U.S. invasion of Iraq
    2003 invasion of Iraq
    The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...

    . He is an advisor to the Atlantic Bridge
    The Atlantic Bridge
    The Atlantic Bridge Research and Education Scheme was an educational charity founded in 1997 with Margaret Thatcher as its President to promote Atlanticism, a philosophy of cooperation between the United Kingdom and the United States regarding political, economic, and defense issues. It was set up...

    .
  • DeMint visited Honduras
    Honduras
    Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...

     in 2009 and met with de facto president Roberto Micheletti
    Roberto Micheletti
    Roberto Micheletti Baín is a former de facto president of Honduras who served as a result of the 2009 coup d'état. The Honduran military was ordered by the Supreme Court to forcefully detain President Manuel Zelaya once the Court stated he was violating the Honduran constitution; Zelaya was exiled...

    , a meeting that was opposed by US President Barack Obama's
    Barack Obama
    Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

     administration. The State Department officially viewed ousted president Manuel Zelaya
    Manuel Zelaya
    José Manuel Zelaya Rosales is a politician who was President of Honduras from January 27, 2006 until June 28, 2009. The eldest son of a wealthy businessman, he inherited his father's nickname "Mel," and, before entering politics, was involved in his family's logging and timber businesses.Elected...

     as the legitimately elected president.
  • Following an attempted terrorist attack
    Northwest Airlines Flight 253
    Northwest Airlines Flight 253 was an international passenger flight from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands, to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Romulus, Michigan, United States...

     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
    Transportation Security Administration
    The Transportation Security Administration is an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that exercises authority over the safety and security of the traveling public in the United States....

    .
  • DeMint opposed President Barack Obama's health reform legislation; he voted against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
    Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
    The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The law is the principal health care reform legislation of the 111th United States Congress...

     in December 2009, and he voted against the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010
    Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010
    The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 is a law that was enacted by the 111th United States Congress, by means of the reconciliation process, in order to amend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act...

    .

1998 through 2002

In 1998, Fourth District Congressman Bob Inglis
Bob Inglis
Robert Durden "Bob" Inglis, Sr. is a former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1993 to 1999, and then again from 2005 until 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party...

 kept his promise to serve only three terms, by running against Senator Fritz Hollings. DeMint won the Republican primary
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....

 for the district, which includes Greenville and Spartanburg
Spartanburg, South Carolina
thgSpartanburg is the largest city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest city of the three primary cities in the Upstate region of South Carolina, and is located northwest of Columbia, west of Charlotte, and about northeast of...

. 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
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 opponent in 1998 or in his two re-election campaigns in 2000 and 2002.

2004

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
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...

'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
David Beasley
David Muldrow Beasley is a Republican who served one term as the 113th Governor of South Carolina from 1995 until 1999....

. DeMint won the runoff handily, however.

DeMint then faced Democratic state education superintendent Inez Tenenbaum
Inez Tenenbaum
Inez Moore Tenenbaum is an American politician from the state of South Carolina. She is currently serving as head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.-Education:...

 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
Thomas J. Robertson
Thomas James Robertson was a United States Senator from South Carolina. Born near Winnsboro, he completed preparatory studies and graduated from South Carolina College at Columbia in 1843...

 and John J. Patterson
John J. Patterson
John James Patterson was a businessman and United States Senator from South Carolina. Born in Waterloo, Pennsylvania, he grew up there and attended the public schools, and then attended Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania...

 served together as Senators.

DeMint stirred controversy during debates with Tenenbaum when he stated his belief that openly gay
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...

 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. 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
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....

, due to the "costly secondary consequences" to society from the prevalence of certain diseases among homosexuals.
Jim DeMint (R) 53.7%
Inez Tenenbaum
Inez Tenenbaum
Inez Moore Tenenbaum is an American politician from the state of South Carolina. She is currently serving as head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.-Education:...

 (D) 44.1%
Patrick Tyndall (Constitution
Constitution Party (United States)
The Constitution Party is a paleoconservative political party in the United States. It was founded as the U.S. Taxpayers' Party by Howard Philips in 1991. Phillips was the party's candidate in the 1992, 1996 and 2000 presidential elections...

) 0.8%
Rebekah Sutherland (Libertarian) 0.7%
Tee Ferguson (United Citizens Party
United Citizens Party
The United Citizens Party was first organized in 1969 in the U.S. state of South Carolina in response to the state Democratic Party's opposition to nominating black candidates. The party's objective was to elect blacks to the legislature and local offices in counties with black majority populations...

) 0.4%
Efia Nwangaza (Green) 0.3%

2010

DeMint won re-nomination in the Republican Party primary. Democratic Party opponent Alvin Greene
Alvin Greene
Alvin Michael Greene is a Democrat from South Carolina. He was the Democratic Party's nominee in the 2010 United States Senate election in South Carolina. He was defeated by incumbent Republican Sen. Jim DeMint by a margin of 61.46% to 27.65%, with the remaining votes going to third-party and...

 won an upset victory over Vic Rawl
Vic Rawl
A. Victor Rawl is a member of the Charleston County council in Charleston, South Carolina. Rawl was a candidate for U.S. Senate in South Carolina in 2010; he lost the Democratic primary to Alvin Greene in a surprise upset and unsuccessfully protested the outcome of the race.-Personal:Rawl grew up...

, who was heavily favored. Due to various electoral discrepancies, Greene received scrutiny from Democratic Party officials, with some calling for Greene to withdraw or be replaced. DeMint consistently led Greene by more than 30 points throughout the campaign and won reelection by a landslide.

Prior to the 2010 elections, DeMint founded the Senate Conservatives Fund (SCF), a political action committee that is "dedicated to electing strong conservatives to the United States Senate" and that is associated with the Tea Party movement. As of February 2011, DeMint continued to serve as Chair of SCF, which states that it raised $9.1 million toward the 2010 U.S. Senate elections and which endorsed successful first-time Senate candidates Pat Toomey
Pat Toomey
Patrick Joseph "Pat" Toomey, Sr. is the junior United States Senator for Pennsylvania and a member of the Republican Party. Previously, Toomey served as a U.S. Representative for three terms, but did not seek a fourth in compliance with a pledge he had made while running for office in 1998...

, Rand Paul
Rand Paul
Randal Howard "Rand" Paul is the junior United States Senator for Kentucky. He is a member of the Republican Party. A member of the Tea Party movement, he describes himself as a "constitutional conservative" and a libertarian...

, Mike Lee, Ron Johnson, and Marco Rubio
Marco Rubio
Marco Antonio Rubio is the junior United States Senator from Florida . A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives ....

.

DeMint plans to retire in 2016 after serving his second term.

On October 1, 2010, DeMint, in comments that echoed what he had said in 2004, told a rally of his supporters that openly homosexual and unmarried sexually active people should not be teachers. In response, the National Organization for Women
National Organization for Women
The National Organization for Women is the largest feminist organization in the United States. It was founded in 1966 and has a membership of 500,000 contributing members. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S...

, the National Education Association
National Education Association
The National Education Association is the largest professional organization and largest labor union in the United States, representing public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college students preparing to become...

, the gay rights group Human Rights Campaign
Human Rights Campaign
The Human Rights Campaign is the United States' largest LGBT advocacy group and lobbying organization; according to the HRC, it has more than one million members and supporters...

, GOProud
GOProud
GOProud is an American tax exempt 527 organization representing conservative gays, lesbians, transgendered people, and their allies. GOProud advocates for small government conservatism at the level of federal public policy. GOProud was founded by Christopher R...

, a GOP group, and National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force builds the political power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community from the ground up. The Task Force is the country’s premier social justice organization fighting to improve the lives of LGBT people, and working to create positive, lasting...

 asked for Demint’s apology.

External links

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