Jim DeMint (Patrick Semansky/AP)
South Carolina Republican Jim DeMint will give up his Senate seat in early January to lead the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C., the senator announced on Thursday.
DeMint, a well-known conservative who was re-elected to a second term in 2010, will replace Heritage President Edwin J. Feulner, who has led the organization for 35 years.
"I believe that I can do more good for the conservative movement outside of the Senate in leveraging the assets of the Heritage Foundation to communicate a more positive, optimistic message to the American people," DeMint told radio host Rush Limbaugh, echoing his statement released earlier Thursday morning.
From DeMint's statement:
I'm leaving the Senate now, but I'm not leaving the fight. I've decided to join The Heritage Foundation at a time when the conservative movement needs strong leadership in the battle of ideas. No organization is better equipped to lead this fight and I believe my experience in public office as well as in the private sector as a business owner will help Heritage become even more effective in the years to come.
He added later in his statement: "My constituents know that being a Senator was never going to be my career."
Conservatives expressed bittersweet sentiments in reaction to the news.
From South Carolina Republican Gov. Nikki Haley:
Our state's loss is the Heritage Foundation's gain. I wish Jim and Heritage all the best in continuing our shared commitment to America's greatness. Republican Study Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio said in a statement, "It is disappointing to lose his strong voice in the Senate, but I look forward to his continued conservative leadership at the helm of The Heritage Foundation. The folks at Heritage are an indispensable ideas factory for conservatives in Congress. South Carolina's loss is the country's gain."
"Sen. DeMint has done more to advance the cause of freedom and liberty in Congress than anyone else since his election,"Club for Growth President Chris Chocola also said in a statement. "Sen. DeMint is a champion of economic freedom, a defender of free markets, and one of the strongest allies the Club for Growth has had in the United States Senate. We wish him nothing but the best in his new role at Heritage."
DeMint's Senate Conservatives Fund was an influential force in the past two election cycles, often putting him directly at odds with his less-conservative incumbent colleagues.
When Limbaugh on Thursday noted that House Republican Speaker John Boehner would not find fault with DeMint's conservative voting record and "force him out of Congress," DeMint shot back, "It might work a little bit the other way."
DeMint conceded in his radio interview that "frustration" with Congress played into his decision, but said conservatives are as much to blame.
"The problem is not [Senate Majority Leader] Harry Reid. I think the problem is, as conservatives, we have not taken enough control of our message and our ideas and communicated them directly to the American people," DeMint told Limbaugh.
"I am also reassured that we have now stocked the Senate with some of the strongest conservatives in the country today, and that's a big change," he added. "So I'm leaving the Senate better than I found it, and I think I can do a lot to support these conservatives inside the Senate and the House working with the Heritage foundation."
DeMint cited a desire to advance the conservative cause Thursday as the reason for his resignation, but the former marketing research firm owner also stands to receive a very large pay increase as Heritage's new president.
The senator's current annual salary is$174,000; Feulner's salary is estimated to be over $1 million.
And DeMint's personal financial disclosure statements show he's nearly the least-affluent lawmaker in the U.S. Senateranked 98th out of 100 members by the Center for Responsive Politics for 2010 (the most recent year available)with an estimated net worth between $16,002 to $65,000.
Haley will be tasked with choosing a replacement senator to temporarily serve until a special election is held to choose a permanent successor.
Rep. Tim Scott's name was immediately circulated in the wake of the news as DeMint's preferred successor. Scott is a conservative, African-American popular with Tea Party activists.
"Looking forward, Governor Haley will now appoint a new Senator, and I know she will make the right choice both for South Carolina and the nation," Scott said in a statement Thursday.
"South Carolina has a deep bench of conservative leaders, and I know Gov. Haley will select a great replacement," DeMint publicly said of the succession process in his statement.
The special election is likely to attract candidates interested in running against Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who is up for re-election in 2014 and has been the target of hard-line conservatives.
