Tagged: Politics

At a press conference Thursday morning, Governor-elect Pat McCrory appointed millionaire, conservative activist Art Pope to be his deputy budget director--the governor's top aide on budget issues. Pope is an experienced legislator, but the appointment is likely to be a lightning rod.

Congresswoman Sue Myrick retires next month, after nine terms representing North Carolina’s 9th congressional district. Myrick cruised into Washington during the historic Republican sweep of the 1994 midterm elections. She offered a reliably conservative voice in Congress, and didn’t ‘hold back’ on the issues she felt most passionately about.   WFAE’s Mark Rumsey has this profile of Myrick’s congressional career:

South Carolina Congressman Tim Scott will become the first African-American senator from the state. Governor Nikki Haley chose him Monday to replace Senator Jim DeMint, who is resigning to run a conservative think tank. WFAE’s Michael Tomsic was at the announcement in Columbia. Here’s a transcript of his segment with WFAE’s Mark Rumsey:

Scott is the only black Republican in Congress. The decision announced Monday makes him the South's first black Republican senator since Reconstruction and only the fourth black Republican ever in the U.S. Senate. 

He takes over for Jim DeMint, who announced earlier this month he would forgo the remaining four years of this term to take the helm of The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. His resignation takes effect Jan. 1.