Former member of Congress · last served 112th Congress
Jim DeMint
James DeMint was a Republican U.S. senator from South Carolina, first elected to Congress in 1999, who voted with most Republicans on 73% of the 112th Congress’s yes/no votes and sponsored 1 bill that became law (106th–112th Congress).
How we count: “Broke with party” is a yes/no roll call where the member voted against most of their own party on that vote (party as recorded; even splits not counted). “Pork: own share” splits each earmark shared by several members evenly among them.
5 most recent votes
- Not VotingOn Passage of the Bill — American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012Jan 1, 2013 · Bill Passed
- Not VotingOn the Nomination — Nomination voteDec 30, 2012 · Nomination Confirmed
- Not VotingOn the Nomination — Nomination voteDec 30, 2012 · Nomination Confirmed
- Not VotingOn Passage of the Bill — Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013Dec 28, 2012 · Bill Passed
- Not VotingOn the Amendment — Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013Dec 28, 2012 · Amendment Rejected
5 most recent bills
- S. 3612 Commemorative Coins Reform Act of 2012Sep 21, 2012 · Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
- S. 3551 A bill to require investigations into and a report on the September 11-13, 2012, attacks on the United States missions in Libya, Egypt, and Yemen, and for…Sep 13, 2012 · Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
- S. 3519 Pay for Printing ActSep 10, 2012 · Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 501.
- S.J.Res. 42 A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to parental rights.Jun 5, 2012 · Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
- S. 2191 A bill to amend the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to prohibit the Attorney General from administering or enforcing certain accessibility regulations…Mar 15, 2012 · Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 336.
Top bills sponsored
- H.R. 2952 (106th) To redesignate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 100 Orchard Park Drive in Greenville, South Carolina, as the "Keith D. Oglesby…Became law
- H.R. 622 (107th) Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2002Passed a chamber
- S. 2650 (109th) A bill to designate the Federal courthouse to be constructed in Greenville, South Carolina, as the "Carroll A. Campbell, Jr. Federal Courthouse".Passed a chamber
- H.R. 3852 (106th) To extend the deadline for commencement of construction of a hydroelectric project in the State of Alabama.Passed a chamber
- H.R. 1057 (108th) Adoption Tax Relief Guarantee ActPassed a chamber
- H.Res. 269 (106th) Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Joseph Jefferson "Shoeless Joe" Jackson should be appropriately honored for his outstanding baseball…Passed a chamber
- S. 2198 (110th) Andrew Larochelle God, Family, and Country Act of 2007Passed a chamber
- S.Res. 289 (109th) A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that Joseph Jefferson "Shoeless Joe" Jackson should be appropriately honored for his outstanding baseball…Passed a chamber
Laws first, then bills that passed a chamber, were reported from committee, or drew the most cosponsors.
Elections Sen. Demint has won
Sen. Demint has won 3 U.S. House elections (1998–2002) and 2 U.S. Senate elections (2004, 2010). Of the contested races, margins ran from 9.6 to 70.8 points.
Full election history for this seat →
Source: MIT Election Data and Science Lab, U.S. House V15 / U.S. Senate V8 (CC0), retrieved 2026-10-18; winners matched to member records by seat and term. Results run through the 2024 elections; nothing from 2026 is shown until it is certified. A margin is a fact about one election, never a score of how well a member represents anyone, and PORKER does not rank members by it.
How has South Carolina done while Sen. DeMint served?
2005 to 2012 in South Carolina: typical household income was down 7% after inflation, the share of people below the poverty line was up 2.7 points, and the share of workers looking for a job was up 3.2 points.
Each mini chart has its own scale, fitted to its lines (it does not start at zero), so compare the numbers, not the heights. Oxblood = state, grey = U.S.
While they served, not because of them. This shows what happened in South Carolina during DeMint’s time representing it (2005 to 2013). It does not say what the member did or caused. It is not a score, and PORKER never ranks members on it.
South Carolina’s borders do not change, so every year is comparable. The Census Bureau has no 2020 yearly estimate.
Official records on bills this member sponsored
112th Congress. What Congress.gov lists for the 35 bills sponsored.
| Record | Bills | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Bills sponsored | 35 | Source: Congress.gov member record, PORKER copy of October 26, 2026 ↗ See them → |
| With a CBO cost estimate listed | 0 | None listed |
| With a committee report listed | 0 | None listed |
Evidence
- How counted
- Bills where this member is the lead (first-listed) sponsor in the 112th Congress, read from the stored Congress.gov bill records
- Fields
- cboCostEstimates, committeeReports, constitutionalAuthorityStatementText, notes
- PORKER copy refreshed
- October 26, 2026 (nightly)
Read this first. These are counts of records Congress.gov lists. Many bills never get a CBO estimate or a report, so a zero is not a mark against a member. We never show this as a score.
Data as of Oct 26, 2026 · latest recorded Senate vote Sep 30, 2026 · Sources: Congress.gov, Senate.gov, House Clerk, Appropriations Committee earmark tables. PORKER is non-partisan.