If you follow me on Twitter, you might recall some weeks back when I said I was on the campaign trail with South Carolina’s black Republican hopeful Tim Scott, who is a frontrunner in the race for the state’s 1rst congressional seat. Today it looks like Scott is about to make black Republican history as the first black Republican congressman from the south since Reconstruction. As the only reporter on duty when this black elephant quietly strutted into a meeting with black leaders; connected with black Democratic politicians; and embraced one white man who’d never imagined he’d vote for “a man of color,” I see the GOP’s race issue in a new light. Here, I’m on a three-stop mission with Tim Scott, as he offers a message to blacks everywhere: “Welcome to the Tea Party.”

Mission One: Black South Carolinians Meet Black Republican Town & Country Inn and Conference Center, Charleston, SC

Tim Scott is in the hot seat. As a Black Republican running for office in the south he has his fair share of non-believers. Today he faces a room of his most ardent critics—other African-Americans.

“What discourages me is your campaign commercials, which were mostly white and maybe a token black,” says public relations executive Cheryl Harleston. “I recognize your need to play to the base, but why not have more African-Americans standing there with you?”

“That’s a good question,” Scott says, his wide smile attempting to keep the mood light.”

“I didn’t say I’d have a good answer,” he laughs nervously. The room comprised of local African-American figures in education, media, and business laugh with him.

“You need to have one,” Cheryl Harleston responds. Her pointed questions make it clear, she intends to make him squirm.

“You’ve proven you can get the job done,” pipes up Reverend John Paul Brown, a respected member of the clergy and a proud Democrat. “But when I listen to words like ‘Obama Care,’ ‘the Nigger plan,’ and ‘Take our country back,’ it’s offensive to me and the people that I represent.”

The members of the audience slowly nod in agreement, while Tim Scott’s shaven head glistens with sweat. Once again, he is left to defend the rhetoric of his entire political party, including those extreme elements.

“I don’t see [the term ‘Obama Care’] as condescending. People say Bush tax cuts all the time or Reaganomics,” he walks the room past the row of round tables, giving the Rev. direct eye contact, before revealing a compromise. “I will use the term ‘National Health Care’ more than I have in the past.”

Tim Scott is the Republican Congressional nominee from South Carolina’s largely Republican 1^st district who captured national headlines after proving that an African-American can win the Republican primary in the South. Scott, 44, has steadily served as a Republican for 15 years beginning in 1995 when he became the first elected African-American Republican to County Council in South Carolina since Reconstruction era. Now, Scott is expected to win his race and become the first black Republican congressman from the South since 1901.

After a short meet-and-greet, Scott collapses onto a hard dining room seat. “That is draining,” he says. “And I got more meetings to go to today.”

As he nears Election Day, Scott’s list of supporters is growing. Before his primary victory, GOP lightening rod, Sarah Palin, gave him an unsolicited co-sign via a facebook post:

“Tim has a remarkable success story. He grew up in poverty and was raised by a single-mom who struggled to provide.” She went on, “ Tim is a pro-life, pro-2^nd Amendment, pro-development, Commonsense Conservative…”

Scott wavers before answering a question about Palin’s impact on his Republican primary win. “It was two days before the election,” he shrugs. “We were already up 59 to 31 in all the polls.”

Likewise, Scott is careful about crediting RNC Chairman Michael Steele for the jump in African-American candidates running as Republicans. “I would think that he is trying harder, but I don’t know,” Scott says, when asked about his impact on minority candidates. “He didn’t recruit me, so it’s hard for me to tell.”

While he proudly displays his Tea Party endorsements, Scott believes that groups like the NAACP has misrepresented the Tea Party when it called on the organization to call out racist acts within its ranks. “[Black people] are weary of the association or affiliation with the Republican party,” Scott says, citing the mini black summit he just held. “It’s like, when I talked about fiscal responsibility everybody was saying Amen. I talked about insanity of spending, they’re all happy about that. I talked about entrepreneurship and they loved it. I talked about limiting the role of government, they were okay with that as well. That is the Tea Party message,” he says, setting up one of his well-worn punch lines. “Welcome to the tea party.”

Scott intended for today’s meeting, held at a hotel conference room, to address issues such as economic power and education opportunities. But this spirited crowd had different issues on their agenda.

“I invited them here to not agree with me,” Scott says after the two-hour grilling. “You can’t invite a bunch of democrats to a conservative republican event and expect to leave singing ‘Kumbaya.’ But because I’m leaving with 2/3 of the room committed to me and five or six checks in my pocket,” he says, pulling out a few checks from his inside his suit jacket, smiling broadly, “I’m cool with that.”

Mission Two: “Meet with a few old friends. Why not build alliances?” Alluete’s Cafe, Charleston SC

Before the next meeting Scott and Maurice Washington, the man who organized Scott’s talk with the influential blacks, stop off at his office (Tim Scott & Assoc.), where he sells insurance. Dallas Cowboy paraphernalia is on full display (“Of course, I’m a Cowboy fan,” he says.) Before Scott ran for office, he ran the football on a scholarship from Presbyterian College. He later transferred back to his hometown Charleston Southern University.

Washington and Scott cruise across town to sit with Democratic state representatives Robert Ford and Wendell G. Gilliard for lunch at Alluette’s, a nationally known health conscious Soul food spot in Charleston. In 2004, Gilliard endorsed the young Scott and took flack from his Democrat colleagues for supporting a Republican candidate. “They came around after a while,” Gilliard told me. “He was the right guy at the time and it’s about who is right for us.”

Meanwhile, the gregarious Ford shovels Scott’s wild rice onto his plate (did you know this was okra, man!?”) and shares tales from his many campaigns battles. Ford is a quick-witted, down home politician who is entrenched in South Carolina politics and handed Scott his first defeat as a young politician.

“I felt sorry for Tim,” Ford smiles, remembering the race in which he trounced Scott who challenged his State house seat. “He didn’t have a chance.”

Maurice Washington, who had previously lost a race to Ford, chimes in. “I said ‘Tim, you really want to do this?’ Tim said, ‘Oh yeah, I got full support of the Republican Party and I’m going to take him.’” Ford looks up from his plate, grinning at Washington’s version of the story. “Man, the votes came in and Ford got 5 to 1.” They all cackle loudly.

Ford is also reeling from a defeat in the Governor’s race, for which he blames Democratic leadership for not getting behind him. Republican candidate Nikki Haley is the clear leader in that race and Ford has not forgiven his Party heads. “If they had given me a little bit of money for the get-out-the-vote drive, I could have beat her in a race.”

Before Scott leaves Alluette’s, he asks representative Ford if he could count on his support. “I already told you that you got my support,” Ford said, his belly bouncing up and down with laughter. “I’m a bitter Democrat, man.”

Gilliard, on the other hand, made no such commitment this day, but Scott remained confident. “I think he’ll come around eventually,” he later said.

Mission: Talk about mentorship with mens’ group Faith Assembly of God, Summerville, SC

The day after his talk with black leaders, Tim Scott waits at the end of a small receiving line at Summerville, South Carolina’s Faith Assembly Church. He has just given a talk to a room of men and boys about the importance of mentorship that was part sermon and part moral motivational set. In this crowd, there were no dissenters. One white man steps to Scott, lifts his chin and pokes out his chest. He pumps Scott’s hand slowly. “You were the first man of color I voted for in my life,” he says in a slow and measured draw.

Scott’s smile is frozen.

“Well I thank you for that vote,” he replies. The man turns on his heels and walks out the room in firm measured steps, leaving Scott behind to receive the blessings of the next well-wisher.

The exchange leaves two young fellows slack jawed, their eyes as wide as saucers. But Scott is unfazed. “You gotta remember, I’ve been an elected republican for 15 years. So, most people who live here have voted for a man of color in the republican primary,” he later says. “But it was a bit surprising,” he admits, with a chuckle. “You hear everything, man.”

Despite the recent pledges of support, there are many questions still swirling about his commitment to his “community” (read: black community).

Tearing a page out of Barack Obama’s playbook, Scott tends to keep talk of race away from his campaign. To be sure, he is aware of his history-making run, but where Obama had moments like his heralded “race speech” to clear any doubts about his “blackness,” Scott won’t allow his race to enter his race. “It’s just not that important to me,” he says. “What’s important is advancing the issues of our community. Our community can be the black community the white community the majority community. It doesn’t matter. Wherever I am, that’s my community.”

On the other hand, J.C. Watts thinks race is an important factor not to be downplayed. Watts, a former football star who played quarterback for the Sooners and represented Oklahoma’s 4^th district until 2003, was the last African-American to serve as a Republican congressman from any of the 50 states. He believes that politicians at all levels have gotten the race issue wrong time and again.

“We Democrats and Republicans are so naive to think that race isn’t an issue today,” he says. “I never led with it but I didn’t run from being black.” He continues, “One of the values of having Tim Scott is understating that the Republican party needs a deeper relationship with the black community.”

Meanwhile, Scott refuses to assess his historical run or to place his race as a black man into any greater context. “If it was never spoken about, if you didn’t hear Tim Scott [will be] the first black Republican congressman from the South since reconstruction, there might be a place for me to talk about it,” he says, his voice straining to make the point. “But everybody acknowledges it for me, so why state the obvious.”

Along with increasing the funding and troops into Afghanistan, this is one of the rare points of agreement Scott shares with the president. “President Obama did not make race an issue,” he says. “Why should I?”

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[Portions of this story was excerpted from a story I wrote in VIBE magazine's November issue, "The Black Elephants In The Room." <-- Read that!]