Rep. Tim Scott Tapped for DeMint's Seat

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has chosen GOP Rep. Tim Scott to take over Jim DeMint's Senate seat, CNN reports by way of GOP sources. She's set to make the announcement today at noon. Scott will be the state's first black senator since the late 1800s, the New York Times notes. Says a fellow rep from the state, "There is not a kinder, more humble, sweet-spirited person ... That is somewhat antithetical to what you’d expect at this level of politics."

It would be another auspicious step in the life of a man that the Times describes as having a "unique story": Scott was raised in a single-parent home and nearly flunked out of high school; but after a Chick-fil-A franchise owner became his mentor, things turned around for him. (More Nikki Haley stories.)