James Warren "Jim" DeMint (born September 2, 1951) is an American politician who was a United States Senator from South Carolina from 2005 to 2013. He is a member of the Republican Party and a leading figure in the Tea Party movement. He previously served as the United States Representative for from 1999 to 2005. DeMint resigned from the Senate on January 1, 2013, to become president of The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.