Jim DeMint

The Economist wrote,

Rather than paying homage to the textile barons, [Jim DeMint] is an unabashed free-trader who has called [South Carolina's textile barons] "malcontents and hypocrites". He points out that 25% of South Carolina's jobs are tied to exports and that the state is one of the most reliant on foreign investment creating jobs. In 2001, he cast the decisive vote that gave Mr Bush trade-promotion authority.

The boldness goes well beyond trade. Mr DeMint wants to change the tax code radically (he has backed 11 bills in Congress that push reforms from the flat tax to a sales tax); he has sponsored an ambitious bill to create personal retirement accounts; and he has pushed hard for health-savings accounts. Small wonder that he is the darling of Washington's conservative think-tanks.

At the same time, Mr DeMint is fiercely socially conservative. Pro-life and pro-gun, he caused a ruckus in the first debate when he argued that gay people should not be allowed to teach in public schools.

The Economist's Zanny Minton Beddoes called the choice between him and his opponent Inez Tenenbaum a choice between "big ideas and bigotry" on the one hand, and "protectionist scare-mongering coupled with more moderate social views" on the other. This was a little like chosing between Bush and Kerry. For me, the economic issues trumped the social ones.