He very well could be.
As a refresher, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) is the first African-American to win a US Senate seat from the South since the 1870s -- and it wasn't even close. Raised by a single mother in trying circumstances, his rise to prominence is nothing short of spectacular. He also happens to be a Republican.
His work championing education reform among other issues, however, has clearly made him a popular leader on both sides of the political aisle, a new left-leaning PPP survey suggests. Voters in South Carolina not only widely admire him, but if his in-state approval/disapproval ratings are any indication, he's figured out something most Washington politicians never will [emphasis mine]:
PPP's new South Carolina poll finds that Tim Scott has quickly become the state's most popular politician- and is already one of the most popular Senators in the country in their home state. 50% of voters approve of the job Scott is doing to only 23% who disapprove. 72% of Republicans approve of the job he's doing, while only 45% of Democrats disapprove. That bucks the trend we see with most major politicians these days where they're as unpopular with the other party as they are popular with their own.Scott's not on anyone's list of vulnerable Senators up for reelection next year, and our polling reinforces that he shouldn't be. In extremely hypothetical match ups with former Governor Jim Hodges (54/32), 2014 Lieutenant Governor candidate Bakari Sellers (56/28), and Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott (55/27) Scott leads by anywhere from 22 to 28 points.
Sen. Scott, therefore, is currently a shoe-in for re-election, the poll finds. And while he's not necessarily boasting Chris Christie-level approval ratings circa November 2013, his internals across-the-board are rather impressive:
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