S.C. Gov. Haley won't pick a placeholder for DeMint's Senate seat

[Draggingtree]

McClatchy:

 

Posted on Tuesday, December 11, 2012

S.C. Gov. Haley won't pick a placeholder for DeMint's Senate seat

 

Andrew Shain | The State (Columbia, S.C.)

 

Andrew Shain The State

The next U.S. senator from South Carolina can run for the office in a 2014 special election after Gov. Nikki Haley said Monday she would not appoint a placeholder to succeed the resigning Jim DeMint.

The move means the first-term Republican governor plans to choose a senator who can hold the seat for years to come.

“Someone is going to get a head start on 2014,” said Warren Tompkins of Columbia, a veteran S.C. GOP political consultant who has advised DeMint.

While TV satirist Stephen Colbert is the top candidate to replace DeMint, according to a poll released Monday,