South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley will announce on Monday her pick to replace Jim DeMint in the U.S. Senate, her spokesman said.
The announcement will come during a noon press conference at the South Carolina Statehouse, spokesman Rob Godfrey said in a tweet on Monday morning.
.@nikkihaley will announce an appointment to fill the vacancy created by @jimdemint‘s retirement during 12 PM Statehouse newser. TODAY.
— Rob Godfrey (@RobGodfrey) December 17, 2012
DeMint, a Republican, is resigning from the U.S. Senate to take over as head of the Heritage Foundation, a Washington D.C.-based conservative think tank.
Under state law, Haley will appoint DeMint’s successor who will serve until a special election is held in 2014. Haley is thought to be considering at least five people for the seat, including, Rep. Tim Scott, former first lady Jenny Sanford, Rep. Trey Gowdy, former Attorney General Henry McMaster and state health agency director Catherine Templeton.
Since DeMint announced his resignation from the Senate earlier this month, much attention has been lavished upon Scott. If selected, he would be the only black member of the U.S. Senate.
Though DeMint’s office says he’s publicly staying neutral in who Haley will pick, there have been reports that DeMint has made it clear in private that Scott is his preferred choice.
“I love him,” DeMint told TheDC in a brief interview last week when asked about Scott.
UPDATE: CNN reports that Haley has told McMaster, the former attorney general, that he is not her pick.
UPDATE II: Haley’s political director, Kurt Pickhardt, posted on Twitter Monday morning: “Today is going to be historic.”
UPDATE III: Haley will appoint Scott to the seat, according to sources cited by CNN and the New York Times.