S.C. Governor Rules Out a 'Placeholder' Appointment to Replace DeMint South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said Monday that she would not appoint a "placeholder" to fill temporarily the Senate seat made vacant by the retirement of Senator Jim DeMint. "As I continue to consider the impending U.S. Senate vacancy," said Ms. Haley in a prepared statement, "many have discussed the possibility of a 'placeholder' appointee who would pledge to serve for only two years and not seek election to the seat in 2014. While there are some good arguments in favor of that approach, I believe the better case is against it. Many South Carolina Republicans - including those in the House delegation - are pushing for Representative Tim Scott, who lives in Charleston, and who would become the only African-American from either party in the Senate. Also in the running, according to political operatives in South Carolina, is Ralph Norman, a state representative from Rock Hill, and Jenny Sanford, the ex-wife of the former governor of South Carolina, Mark Sanford, with whom Ms. Haley has had an increasingly rocky relationship. Both Mr. Norman and Ms. Sanford are wealthy and could finance a Senate campaign. Any decision by Ms. Haley is expected to be made with her own re-election efforts in mind. Mr. DeMint said last week he would leave the Senate just two years into his second term to run the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. "While I am an avid supporter of term limits" Ms. Haley added, "I do not want the effectiveness of our state's new U.S. senator to be undermined by the fact that he or she will automatically be leaving the office such a very short time after assuming it. I believe South Carolina will be best served by a U.S. senator who will work hard day in and day out, and put him or herself before the voters at the soonest possible time. Accordingly, I reject the option of a 'placeholder.' On Tuesday, the governor will hold a news conference at Boeing's welcome center after she tours its facility in North Charleston.