in the white-majority district. He became the first black Republican elected to any office in South Carolina since the late 19th century. In 1996, Scott challenged Democratic State Senator Robert Ford in South Carolina's 42nd Senate district, but lost 65%–35%. Scott was reelected to the County Council in 2000, again winning in white-majority districts. In 2004, he was reelected again with 61% of the vote, defeating Democrat Elliot Summey (son of Mayor Keith Summey). Tenure Scott served on the council from 1995 until 2009, becoming chairman in 2007. In 1997, he supported posting the Ten Commandments outside the council chambers, saying it would remind members of the absolute rules they should follow. The county council unanimously approved the display, and Scott nailed a King James version of the Commandments to the wall. Shortly thereafter, the ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State challenged this in a federal suit. After an initial court ruling that the display was unconstitutional, the council settled out of court to avoid accruing more legal fees. Of the costs of the suit, Scott said, "Whatever it costs in the pursuit of this goal is worth it." In January 2001, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Charleston County, South Carolina for racial discrimination under the Voting Rights Act, because its council seats were based on at-large districts. DOJ had attempted to negotiate with county officials on this issue in November 2000. Justice officials noted that at-large seats dilute the voting strength of the significant African-American minority in the county, who in 2000 made up 34.5% of the population. They had been unable to elect any "candidates of their choice" for years. Whites or European Americans made up 61.9% of the county population. County officials noted that the majority of voters in 1989 had approved electing members by at-large seats in a popular referendum. Scott, the only African-American member of the county council, said of this case and the alternative of electing council members from single-member districts: I don't like the idea of segregating everyone into smaller districts. Besides, the Justice Department assumes that the only way for African-Americans to have representation is to elect an African-American, and the same for whites. Obviously, my constituents don't think that's true. The Department of Justice alleged that the issue was not a question of ethnicity, stating that voters in black precincts in the county had rejected Scott