The resignation of U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint gives Gov. Nikki Haley sole authority to choose South Carolina's next senator, and the only indication she's made is that it won't be her.
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COLUMBIA, S.C. (WACH/AP) -- The resignation of U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint gives Gov. Nikki Haley sole authority to choose South Carolina's next senator, and the only indication she's made is that it won't be her.
Speculation abounds over who she might pick to fill the seat through 2014.
Names tossed out as possibilities include the state's four congressmen recently re-elected to their second term.
Rep. Mick Mulvaney says he was contemplating running to replace DeMint in 2016 anyway. DeMint had said he wouldn't seek a third term.
Haley could make history by appointing Rep. Tim Scott. He would become South Carolina's first black U.S. senator.
State law gives Haley no timeline, though she says she won't drag out a decision.
This shake-up will make the 2014 general election a critical one. Along with the special election for Senator DeMint's seat, Senator Lindsey Graham's seat and the Governor's office will all be decided.
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson told WACH Fox that Senator DeMint can still do a lot for South Carolina.
"I'm very excited to have him go to The Heritage Foundation, which is a think tank that I often rely on for disecting and getting into policy matters when I have to study up on an issue. So knowing that he is over there is something that I am really excited for, not only for myself, but for the State of South Carolina," Wilson said.
DeMint spokesman Wesley Denton says the senator is not getting involved in Haley's choice.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report)
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