Jim DeMint facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jim DeMint
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DeMint in 2005
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| President of the Heritage Foundation | |
| In office April 4, 2013 – May 2, 2017 |
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| Preceded by | Edwin Feulner |
| Succeeded by | Edwin Feulner |
| United States Senator from South Carolina |
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| In office January 3, 2005 – January 2, 2013 |
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| Preceded by | Fritz Hollings |
| Succeeded by | Tim Scott |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina's 4th district |
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| In office January 3, 1999 – January 3, 2005 |
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| Preceded by | Bob Inglis |
| Succeeded by | Bob Inglis |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
James Warren DeMint
September 2, 1951 Greenville, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse |
Debbie Henderson
(m. 1973) |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | University of Tennessee (BA) Clemson University (MBA) |
James Warren DeMint (born September 2, 1951) is an American businessman, writer, and former politician. He served as a United States Senator for South Carolina. He also led The Heritage Foundation, a well-known research group. DeMint was an important person in the Tea Party movement, a political group that wanted less government spending. He is a member of the Republican Party. He also started the Senate Conservatives Fund.
DeMint was a U.S. Representative for South Carolina from 1999 to 2005. He was then elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004 and again in 2010. He left the Senate in 2013 to become the president of The Heritage Foundation. In 2017, he resigned from Heritage. After that, he became an advisor for Citizens for Self-Governance. He also founded the Conservative Partnership Institute.
Contents
Early Life and Education
DeMint was born in Greenville, South Carolina, on September 2, 1951. He was one of four children. His parents divorced when he was five years old. After the divorce, his mother ran a dance studio from their home.
DeMint went to Christ Church Episcopal School and Wade Hampton High School. He played drums in a band called Salt & Pepper. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1973 from the University of Tennessee. He was part of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity there. Later, he received an MBA in 1981 from Clemson University.
Early Career
In 1981, DeMint joined his father-in-law's advertising company in Greenville. He worked in market research, which involves studying what people want to buy. In 1983, he started his own research company, The DeMint Group. His clients included businesses, schools, and hospitals.
Serving in the U.S. House of Representatives
Becoming a Representative
DeMint first got involved in politics in 1992. He worked for Republican Representative Bob Inglis during his campaign for South Carolina's Fourth Congressional District. Inglis won, and DeMint helped him with his message for two more successful elections.
In 1998, Inglis decided to run for the U.S. Senate instead of running for his House seat again. DeMint decided to run for Inglis's seat. This district was mostly Republican, so winning the primary election was very important. DeMint came in second in the Republican primary. He then won the runoff election by a small number of votes. After that, he won against the Democratic candidate, Glenn Reese, with 57 percent of the vote. He ran again in 2000 and 2002 and won easily.
Time in the House
DeMint was chosen as the president of the new Republican members in the House. He had promised to serve only three terms in the House.
News sources have called DeMint a "staunch conservative." This means he held very traditional political views. He sometimes disagreed with his own party. For example, he was one of 34 Republicans who voted against President Bush's No Child Left Behind program. He also voted against Medicare Part D, a health program. DeMint wanted to change No Child Left Behind to give states more control over school funding. He also wanted to change Social Security. He suggested allowing people to put some of their Social Security money into personal investment accounts.
DeMint was the only House member from South Carolina to vote for allowing more trade with China. He believed in free trade between countries. His votes on trade made the textile industry in South Carolina, which was very powerful, oppose him in later elections.
Serving in the U.S. Senate
2004 Election
DeMint announced he would run for the Senate in 2002. This was after Senator Ernest Hollings said he would retire. DeMint was the White House's preferred candidate in the Republican primary.
In the primary election in June 2004, DeMint came in second. He then won the runoff election easily. He then faced Inez Tenenbaum, a Democrat, in the general election. DeMint won the election by a good margin. His win meant that South Carolina had two Republican senators for the first time since the Reconstruction era.
During his debates, DeMint made some comments that caused discussion. He later apologized for these remarks, saying they were "distracting from the main issues." He also said these were his personal beliefs, not things he would try to change as a member of Congress.
2010 Election
DeMint easily won the Republican primary election again. He then faced Alvin Greene, the Democratic candidate. On November 2, 2010, DeMint won the election with 63% of the votes.
Time in the Senate
In his first term, DeMint joined several important committees. These included the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee and the Environment and Public Works Committee. In 2006, DeMint began leading the Senate Steering Committee. He also served on the Committee on Foreign Relations.
In 2009, DeMint was one of only two senators who voted against Hillary Clinton becoming Secretary of State. The next year, he proposed a law to completely get rid of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. He also suggested a law that would require Congress to approve any big new rules made by federal agencies.
After being re-elected in 2010, DeMint became a very important figure in the Tea Party movement. In 2012, DeMint announced he would leave the Senate in January 2013. He took a job as president of The Heritage Foundation. South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley chose Congressman Tim Scott to take DeMint's place in the Senate.
Political Beliefs
DeMint is a member of the Republican Party. He is closely connected to the Tea Party movement. In 2011, he was named one of the most conservative members of the Senate.
Economy and Budget
DeMint has always supported changing the tax system. He wanted to replace the federal income tax with a national sales tax. He also wanted to get rid of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). He supported changes to how the government spends money. He wanted a balanced budget amendment instead of increasing the national debt limit. As a senator, DeMint suggested a two-year ban on "earmarks." Earmarks are special spending requests by members of Congress for projects in their home states. In 2008, presidential candidates John McCain, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama supported DeMint's idea to reform earmarks, but it did not pass.
DeMint also supported free trade agreements. He wanted to privatize Social Security benefits. In 2009, he wrote the "Health Care Freedom Plan." This plan suggested giving tax credits to people who could not afford health insurance. DeMint was against President Barack Obama's health care reform, known as the Affordable Care Act.
DeMint voted against the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008. This act helped veterans pay for education. He also opposed the government bailouts during the 2008 financial crisis. He wanted more government accountability through auditing federal agencies.
Foreign Policy
In 1999, DeMint voted against the NATO intervention during the Kosovo war. In 2002, he voted to allow military force in Iraq. In 2011, DeMint voted against military involvement in Libya. He believed it was more important to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons than to simply contain them.
DeMint also worried about certain United Nations treaties. These included the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Law of the Sea Treaty. DeMint supports legal immigration. He is against giving amnesty to illegal immigrants. He opposed the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013. He believed that giving amnesty would cost American taxpayers a lot of money.
In 2020, DeMint wrote that he was wrong about liberalizing trade with China. He said that while he still supported free trade, his views on China had changed.
Obama Administration
In 2009, DeMint visited Honduras to learn about a political situation there. He supported the new government, while the Obama administration wanted the former president to return.
DeMint also criticized President Obama for not focusing enough on terrorism. He said this after an attempted bombing on a flight in December 2009.
Social Issues
DeMint voted against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) in 2009 and 2010. He voted in favor of making English the official language of the U.S. government.
DeMint has strong opinions on social issues. He has voted for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. He also voted to ban same-sex adoption in Washington, D.C. He made comments in 2004 and 2010 that caused discussion. He later clarified that these were his personal values.
Later Career
Senate Conservatives Fund
In 2008, DeMint started the Senate Conservatives Fund (SCF). This group helps conservative candidates get elected. The SCF is linked to the Tea Party movement. It supports conservative Republican politicians in elections. The SCF helped several new senators win their elections in 2010. DeMint left the SCF in 2012.
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The Heritage Foundation
On April 4, 2013, DeMint began his first full day as president of The Heritage Foundation. This is a well-known conservative research organization. In 2010, the previous president of Heritage earned a much higher salary than a senator. DeMint was one of the less wealthy members of the Senate at that time.
On May 2, 2017, DeMint resigned from the Heritage Foundation. The board asked him to leave because they felt he was no longer the right person to lead the organization.
Citizens for Self-Governance
In June 2017, DeMint became a senior advisor to Citizens for Self-Governance. This group wants to call a convention to propose amendments to the United States Constitution. Their goal is to reduce federal government spending and power. DeMint said that the Tea Party movement needed a new goal. He believed many members were now interested in changing the Constitution. The proposed changes would limit government spending, give more power to states, and set term limits for federal officials.
Conservative Partnership Institute
In 2017, DeMint founded the Conservative Partnership Institute (CPI). He serves as its chairman. The CPI aims to help conservative staff and elected officials develop their skills. Mark Meadows joined as a senior partner in 2021. The Save America PAC donated $1 million to the CPI.
2020 Election Results
DeMint was involved in efforts to challenge the 2020 United States presidential election results. On December 10, 2020, he signed a letter from the Conservative Action Project. This letter asked state legislatures to ignore the popular vote results in some states. It asked them to appoint electors who supported President Donald Trump.
Personal Life
DeMint's wife, Debbie, is one of three children of James Marvin Henderson Sr.. He was a well-known advertising entrepreneur and Republican figure in Greenville.
Works
- Why We Whisper: Restoring Our Right to Say It's Wrong, with J. David Woodard. Rowman & Littlefield. 2007.
- Now or Never: Saving America from Economic Collapse. Center Street, 2012.
- Falling in Love With America Again Center Street, 2014.
See also
In Spanish: Jim DeMint para niños
