Charleston, SC, Thursday, June 10, 2010 – On Tuesday, in the Republican primary election for Congress in South Carolina’s First District, Tim Scott led a field of nine candidates by a whopping 15 points. Tim Scott received 31% of the vote, compared to runoff opponent Paul Thurmond’s 16%.

Today, Scott unveiled his first TV ad of the runoff. Entitled, “Win Our Country Back,” the Tea Party-backed conservative is shown in the ad talking to First District citizens about the dangers of excessive spending in Washington. The ad can be seen by clicking on the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1maoCWNTRk

Scott drew praise from South Carolina U.S. Senator Jim DeMint, who had this to say:

“Tim is making a strong statement against wasteful Washington spending. It takes courage to fight the culture of earmarks and I commend him for it. Those who come to Washington believing it’s their job to bring home the bacon become part of the problem the moment they take the oath of office.” — U.S. Senator Jim DeMint

Like Sen. DeMint, Tim Scott has recognized the corrupt and wasteful nature of the Washington earmarking system and has pledged to oppose it. By contrast, Paul Thurmond has refused to renounce wasteful spending earmarks, and has criticized Sen. DeMint’s position, stating “I’m not willing to say I’m not for earmarks if we have them.” (Politico, February 25, 2010).

Tim Scott commented this way: “Washington is filled with politicians who promise that they will deliver goodies to the folks back home. What those politicians don’t tell us is that by playing that game, they force the taxpayers of our district to pay for hundreds of billions of dollars in wasteful pork projects all over the country. That has to stop if we are ever going to get our fiscal house in order. I’m proud to associate myself with the Sen. DeMint’s spending position, and I look forward to working with him and other conservatives to bring fiscal discipline back to our country.”