After graduating from Charleston Southern University in 1988, Scott started work as an insurance agent, later becoming the vice president of local insurance company Triest and Sholk Insurance.

Charleston County Council

In 1995, he ran for a seat on the Charleston County Council and beat his Democratic opponent with more than 80 percent of the vote. This made him the first black Republican to hold any office in the state since 1902.

Later that year, Scott signed up as the statewide co-chairman for the reelection campaign of Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.). "He represents South Carolina well, and that's South Carolina inclusively," he said.

In 1996, Scott forfeited his seat on the county council to challenge state Sen. Robert Ford, an African-American Democrat. Scott earned the endorsement of Charleston's Democratic mayor and he emphasized he would work on economic empowerment and property-tax rollbacks; but the district was too Democraticand Scott lost decisively, 65 to 35 percent.

In 1997, Scott once again ran for a seat on the Charleston County Council; he emphasized his conservative beliefs all the way to victory. "If you stand for individual responsibility and free enterprise driving the economy, you're going to be adored by Republicans," he said.

In January 2007, he became county council chairman. Later that year, the state legislature was preparing to appoint a replacement to outgoing state Treasurer Thomas Ravenel when Gov. Mark Sanford (R) unexpectedly weighed in to urge lawmakers to pick Scott, noting that South Carolina hadn't had an African-American statewide official since Reconstruction. However, Sanford was criticized for making his move after it had become clear that state Rep. Converse Chellis had locked enough support to become treasurer. Scott indeed lost to Chellis.

In 2008, Scott ran for a seat in the state House. With Sanford's support, he easily prevailed in the Republican primary and faced no Democratic opposition in winning the general election. His victory made him the first black Republican elected to the state legislature since Reconstruction.

2010 House Race

Scott announced he would run for lieutenant governor in the 2010 midterms. But he dropped out of that race to run for Congress after Rep. Henry Brown Jr. (R-S.C.) announced he wouldn't seek reelection to South Carolina's 1st district, a conservative seat that borders the state's coastline.

The GOP's brightest prospect of electing its first African-American congressman since 2003, Scott quickly drew attention and establishment support. He received endorsements from Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee and the Club for Growth; and while the National Republican Congressional Committee officially remained neutral, prominent members of the GOP leadership donated to Scott's campaign.

The attention grew national after the June 8th GOP primary determined Scott would face Paul Thurmond (R), son of former Sen. Strom Thurmond, in the runoff two weeks later.

Scott positioned himself as a tea party candidate. He described national Democrats as socialists and called for a return to what he saw as the Founding Father's vision of limited government. "This race is about the size of the federal government, eliminating that size and getting us closer to the constitutional mandate of a smaller, less intrusive government," he said. He differentiated himself from Thurmond most clearly on earmarks. While Thurmond promised to steer federal money to the district, Scott declared the earmarking process was "corrupt" and that he would not engage in it.

On June 22nd, Scott crushed Thurmond 68 to 32 percent, clinching the GOP nod. In a district that gave John McCain a 15 poiunt victory in the 2008 presidential election..

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