Tim Scott biography

Synopsis

Early Life

Tim Scott was born Timothy Eugene Scott on September 19, 1965, in Charleston, South Carolina. When Scott was still in grade school, his parents divorced. Scott's father, Ben, was stationed with the Air Force in Colorado for most of Scott's childhood, leaving Scott's single mother, a nurse's aid named Frances, to raise him and his siblings on her own.

Scott helped his family make ends meet by working at a Chick-fil-A franchise, while struggling to do well in high school. The franchise's owner, John Moniz, became Scott's mentor. Moniz convinced Scott that he could use his intelligence and problem-solving skills to find a way out of poverty and become successful. Muniz died of a heart attack when Scott was in his senior year. To cope with the loss, Scott focused on implementing Moniz's inspirational advice. By his high school graduation, Scott had improved his grades and stepped up his game enough to qualify for a partial football scholarship to Presbyterian College. Eventually, he transferred to Charleston Southern University, graduating in 1988 with a bachelor's degree in political science.

Business Success

Before Tim Scott broke into politics, he embarked on a successful business career. He became the owner of the Tim Scott Allstate Insurance Company, one of the most successful Allstate branches in his home state of South Carolina.

Scott was also a partner of the Pathway Real Estate Group prior to transitioning to a political career in the mid-1990s.

Political Career

Scott took his first stab at politics in 1995, when he ran for Charleston County Council and won. He went on to serve as a councilman for more than a decade, leaving his post in 2009 after winning election to the South Carolina House of Representatives. Early into his service as a state representative, Scott was appointed chairman of the House Whip and the Freshman Caucus.

In 2010, Scott ran as a Republican nominee against Paul Thurmond for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, and won. That fall, Scott took his seat in Congress—becoming the first African-American Republican congressman from the South since the post-Civil War Reconstruction Era—representing South Carolina's 1st Congressional District.

Following the election, the Congressional Black Caucus invited Scott to become a member. He declined, explaining, "My campaign was never about race."

In 2012, Scott was selected as a possible replacement for Junior Senator Jim DeMint, who was getting ready to retire from the U.S. Senate in order to head up the Heritage Foundation. Scott faced off against several impressive candidates, including Jenny Sanford, Trey Gowdy, Henry McMaster and Catherine Templeton.