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(AP) -- COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- South Carolina's only black Republican legislator is running for lieutenant governor.

Rep. Tim Scott of Charleston announced Tuesday he's entering the race with $150,100 raised in 10 days. The former Charleston County Council chairman said he realizes his run will be unique but argues politics must be about issues, not race.

Scott says he was encouraged to run for statewide office. The entrepreneur says his campaign will focus on serving and recognizing seniors through the Lieutenant Governor's Office on Aging, job creation and streamlining government.

The 2008 election sent Scott to the state House as the first black Republican since Reconstruction. Palmetto state voters have not elected an African-American to a statewide office since Reconstruction ended.

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