South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is naming Rep. Tim Scott to the US Senate seat being vacated by outgoing Sen. Jim DeMint. Scott is known for being a solidly conservative, Tea Party style representative. He has served one term in the US House and in November, won his second term.

More from the NYT:

For Republicans, Mr. Scott, who lives in Charleston, offers a unique story and background, one that is in scant supply in their party right now. Raised by a single mother, he was, by his account, a lost child who struggled with school and with life until he a Chick-fil-A franchise owner who took him on as a protégé, schooling him in conservative principles.

“Coming from a single-parent household and almost flunking out of high school,” Mr. Scott said in 2010, during his bid for the House, “my hope is I will take that experience and help people bring out the best that they can be.”