Potential Shakeup in SC-01 as Club for Growth Endorses Tim Scott

It's only March 23rd, but it's not too early to talk about November.  One House race to keep an eye on is SC-01, where there may be a bit of a shake-up in the works for the crowded Republican field, as the far right Club for Growth (CFG) put its finger on the scale today by endorsing Tim Scott (pictured), just the 11th candidate they've endorsed during this election cycle nationally.  This endorsement is interesting for a few reasons.

The district incumbent Henry Brown (R-SC) announced earlier this year that he will not be running for re-election and while this district leans right (R+10 PVI) after having practically all of its black residents gerrymandered out in the nineties, it is in play for a potential Democratic pickup, especially given the near win by progressive, openly gay Democrat Linda Ketner in 2008.  Ketner's not running this time around, but the field on both the Democratic and Republican sides is pretty full.

We can expect that CFG will raise some serious money for Tim Scott who, though known as a member of the SC House of Representatives, apparently hasn't raised any money for this bid.  It also legitimizes Scott for right-wing GOP primary voters, as other alumni of the CFG endorsed candidates club include such far right "luminaries" as Marco Rubio (who's now expected to spoil what once looked like a sure bet in Florida for Charlie Crist to become the GOP Senatorial candidate), Pat Toomey (a frequent primary gadfly to Arlen Specter turned serious threat in the PA Senate race), and Michele Bachmann (need I say more?).  All of these factors could be critical in determining whether or not Scott can edge out the likes of better known candidates like Paul Thurmond and Tumpy Campbell, the latter of whom has already spent nearly $100,000 on the primary race.

Scott is certainly talking the right-wing talk, already running on a platform of repealing health care, even though repeal is practically impossible.  If Scott ends up winning the primary, he may scare off independent voters in the general and increase the likelihood of a Democratic victory.  Keep your eye on this one.