Jim DeMint's announcement on Thursday that he would resign the U.S. Senate in early 2013 to take over the Heritage Foundation caught many off-guard.
But it shouldn't have been a huge surprise.
When he visited Charleston in August 2011 to speak to the chamber of commerce, he hinted that his future rests with a politically active organization, and not a political office.
Original Post (Aug. 30, 2011): While stressing the need for more like-minded conservatives in Washington, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) speculated Tuesday about his own retirement.
DeMint was the guest speaker at a quarterly Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce meeting, followed by his own town hall breakfast with regional GOP members.
DeMint's speech to Republicans at the Daniel Island Club was one part victory lap and one part troop rally. He lamented his own decision to go rogue in 2008, angering the Republican leadership as he began supporting conservative challengers in GOP primaries and chased a few moderate senators into early retirement.
"I decided we had to change things and, fortunately, my decision coincided with a lot of Americans deciding they needed to take back their country," DeMint said.
"All I heard day after day was that I was wrong. What I heard when I left Washington was people standing up in support."
He encouraged grassroots activists to stay in the fight and keep sending a conservative message to Washington.
"When it gets quiet on the outside and noisy up there, that’s when good people cave," he said.
DeMint might be trying to send more "good people" to Washington, D.C., but he’s planning to send one of those staunch conservatives home: himself.
"I'm going to term limit myself," he said, before quickly noting, "At least, that’s my plan right now. I'm not ruling anything out, but I believe in term limits. I want some of our new congressmen to start thinking about replacing me."
The senator's second term ends in 2016, fueling speculation of a presidential run, but DeMint seems to have ambitions behind-the-scenes.
"Frankly I could have more influence on the outside with something like the Senate Conservative Fund where I didn’t have to be as delicate, if you could call me that, with some of our incumbents," he said.
Earlier, in his comments to the crowd, DeMint’s "delicate" nature was on display: "We need to elect Republicans who aren't going to be namby-pamby when they get there."