The New Congress Will Have Two Black Republicans and No Black Senators

When the new Congress convenes in January there will be two black Republicans in the House of Representatives.

Allen West defeated Democratic incumbent Ron Klein in Florida’s 22nd Congressional District, which runs along the Florida coast between Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach. West is a former high school teacher and retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel. He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and holds master’s degrees from Kansas State University and the United States Army Command and General Staff Officer College. West has indicated he will join the Congressional Black Caucus, where he will be the only GOP member.

Tim Scott easily won election in South Carolina’s First Congressional District. Scott, an insurance agent, has been serving in the South Carolina House of Representatives. He is a graduate of Charleston Southern University. Scott will not join the Black Caucus. He stated, “I think the best for America is finding a way to fuse all of our communities together and erase all those lines that separate us.”

It is also noteworthy that when the new Congress convenes in January, not one of the 100 members of the United States Senate will be an African American.

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