WASHINGTON — Sen. Jim DeMint suggested in a brief interview with The Daily Caller on Thursday that he would approve if former South Carolina first lady Jenny Sanford is tapped to take over the Senate seat he is vacating next month.
“She’s great,” DeMint said Thursday afternoon, as he walked off the Senate floor after a vote.
DeMint, a Republican, announced last week that he’s resigning from the U.S. Senate to take over as head of the Heritage Foundation, a Washington D.C.-based conservative think tank. (RELATED: Why is Jenny Sanford being seriously considered for the Senate?)
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley will appoint DeMint’s successor. Haley is thought to be considering at least five people for the seat, including Sanford, whose ex-husband, Mark Sanford, was governor of the state.
Sanford, who divorced her husband after it was revealed he had a mistress in Argentina, has never served in elected office. But she has been mentioned as a potential candidate for office before and is considered very popular in the Palmetto state.
Asked if he already knows whom Haley will appoint, DeMint deflected with a laugh. “I hope it’ll be somebody like Dean or Barrasso,” he responded, as Nevada Sen. Dean Heller and Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso stepped into an elevator with him. (RELATED: Poll shows comedian Stephen Colbert is South Carolina’s top pick to replace DeMint)
How does he feel about Tim Scott, a conservative black congressman also believed to be under consideration?
“I love him,” DeMint told TheDC.