South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley named GOP Rep. Tim Scott as the replacement for outgoing Sen. Jim DeMint.
Haley announced Scott as the new senator at a press conference Monday afternoon.
"I can walk away from the Senate knowing we have someone better than I am," Senator Jim DeMint said about Scott.
State law gives the Republican governor the authority to pick DeMint's successor.
DeMint announced less than two weeks ago that he would resign Jan. 1 to take the helm of a national conservative think tank.
Scott will fill the seat until 2014, when voters will choose who will fill the remaining two years of DeMint's term.
