WASHINGTON (AP) — Several minority candidates rode the Republican surge on Tuesday, as an Indian-American woman was elected governor of South Carolina while voters there sent the first black Republican to Congress since 2003.
In South Carolina, Nikki Haley won a closer-than-expected governor's race, and Tim Scott was easily elected to the House. Scott will be the first black congressman from South Carolina since Reconstruction.
On the Democratic side, Terri Sewell became the first black woman elected to Congress in Alabama.
Scott is a state representative and insurance company owner who earned a primary victory over the son of the one-time segregationist, U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond.
The last black Republican in Congress was J.C. Watts of Oklahoma. He left office in 2003.
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