Black GOP Senator Blasts Democratic 'Race-Baiting'

Sen. Tim Scott (R-South Carolina), the first black senator elected in the South since the Reconstruction era, is no fan of racially tinged Democratic attacks on his party.

"The lowest common denominator of fear and race-baiting is something that the other party has tried to do, and the voters said 'No.' They rejected this," Scott said during a Wednesday night interview on Fox News' "Hannity."

"The voters continue to repudiate that approach to politics," he added.

Scott, who won his re-election bid Tuesday, was responding to recent remarks by Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-New York) that have directly connected some Republicans to confederates. He dismissed Rangel's comments as "ridiculous" and argued that the past few election cycles proved Southern politics had changed.

"If you look at [Gov.] Bobby Jindal in Louisiana - a person of color. Look at my governor, Nikki Haley - a person of color. And now myself. The South has made so much progress. And the best thing that folks like Mr. Rangel can say is that he's going to harken back to a 100 years ago, or 70 ago. Let's talk about tomorrow," Scott said.

Scott is one of only two African-American members of the Senate along with New Jersey Democrat Cory Booker.

On Thursday morning, Scott also went on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" to praise the progress his home state and the whole region had made over the decades.

"South Carolina voters vote their values and their issues - and not my complexion," Scott said. "This is a great sign for what's happening throughout the South, but certainly a fantastic sign for the evolution that has occurred in South Carolina."

Watch Scott on MSNBC below.