GOP Elevates Some New Faces

At WSJ, "Freshman House Republicans Pick an African-American and a Woman for Roles in Leadership":

House Republican freshmen chose Reps.-elect Tim Scott and Kristi Noem for new leadership positions Wednesday, as the party looked to capitalize on its midterm-election victories by boosting its appeal to women, minorities and young voters.

Rep. John Boehner (R., Ohio) was chosen, as expected, to lead House Republicans overall, making him the likely speaker in January. In all, House Republicans' top six leaders will be white men.

Not so for the newly elected GOP freshmen class, which will have at least 85 members and constitute more than a third of House Republicans. Mr. Scott, of South Carolina, will be one of two African-American Republicans in Congress, and Ms. Noem, of South Dakota, will be one of two female GOP leaders.

"The freshman class is a big class," said Rep.-elect Steve Womack (R., Ark.). "It's going to wield a lot of clout here for a couple years. And I think the veteran members and the other side are going to pay a lot of attention to what we have to say."

Mr. Boehner announced shortly after the Nov. 2election that he was creating a new seat for a freshman at the leadership table. On Tuesday, he said he would add another. Those two positions will be filled by Mr. Scott, 45 years old, and Ms. Noem, 38. The two are newcomers to Washington, but not to politics.

Mr. Scott, who grew up poor with a single mother, was elected in 1995 to the Charleston County Council and later to the South Carolina legislature, becoming the first black Republican to serve in each body since Reconstruction. He is fiercely anti-tax, wants to make English the official language of government and says he would insist new immigrants learn English.

While serving in the legislature and working as an insurance agent and a partner in a real estate group, Mr. Scott won the Republican nomination for Congress last June in his heavily conservative district. He defeated Paul Thurmond, son of former Sen. Strom Thurmond, who was a segregationist for much of his career.

Ms. Noem is a rancher and mother of three whose family raises cattle and shows horses. When her father died, she left college to help run the ranch full-time. She is also a state legislator, though Republican leaders often play down that aspect of her career.

Ms. Noem wants to end the estate tax, believes guns should not be subject to federal regulation, and promised to maintain a 100% anti-abortion record in Congress.

Mr. Scott and Ms. Noem are among a handful of incoming Republicans whom the GOP leadership is promoting as faces of the new party ...

More at the link, and you gotta love the diversity of the GOP freshman class.