House Freshmen Emerge as G.O.P. Power Brokers

Rep. Tim Scott (R-SC) listens during a markup hearing before the House Rules Committee January 6, 2011 on Capitol Hill in Washington

From The New York Times:

The four South Carolina freshmen — Mr. Scott and Representatives Jeff Duncan, Trey Gowdy and Mick Mulvaney — have been among the most prominent faces of the anti-Washington movement. They were among the 66 Republican House members to vote against the deal to raise the debt ceiling, and they remain popular in South Carolina, a state where the Tea Party has been the wind beneath the wings of Senator Jim DeMint and the hot breath on the neck of Senator Lindsey Graham, whose occasional deviations from orthodoxy have left some conservatives grumbling about him.

In a state that could play a vital role in the selection of a presidential nominee, the blessing of the Freshmen Four would be enormously helpful to candidates looking for some Tea Party sheen, and demonstrate the unusual power that they enjoy within their state’s party.

Mr. Scott brings something else to the table: he is one of only two black Republicans in Congress right now, which candidates also see as a boon.