South Carolina House Speaker David Wilkins is accepting a position as U.S. ambassador to Canada.
NewsChannel Seven broke the story Wednesday night at six.

Rumors that Wilkins was going to take the job swirled around the state for months. The Greenville state lawmaker stayed quiet on the issue. And did not confirm or deny the rumors even while newspapers across the state published speculative articles about who would take over Wilkin's job as the state's top House member. One of those mentioned in in story after story has been House Speaker Pro Tempore Doug Smith of Spartanburg

It should be quite a change for Wilkins. He's been a familiar face at the state house since 1981. And has been arguably the state's highest profile lawmaker since 1994, when he took over the position of Speaker. Wilkins often displays a wry sense of humor about keeping the often long-winded fellow lawmakers on schedule. And today you would have seen him smile or even laugh as he listened to a particularly long debate on a bill that would eliminate common law marriages.

Wilkins has stayed out of the spotlight when it comes to controversy. But has come the closest to conflict not with Democrats in the Republican dominated House but with fellow GOP member Governor Mark Sanford. Sanford has tried several stunts to prompt lawmakers to move faster on his bills focusing on government efficiency. The most notorious of those was bring two pigs to the statehouse who Sanford named Pork and Barrel. And just this year Sanford sent a email urging lawmakers to pass his agenda for the year. Wilkin's press secretary responded with an email message from the Speaker pointing out the House passed all of the Governor's initiatives last year, and the Senate is where Sanford's agenda was having problems.

Wilkins passed on two former offers from President Bush. He reportedly turned down a federal judge's robe and the ambassador's position to Chile in 2001.

Political observers say this appointment would be a reward for Wilkin's work in the President's 2000 and 2004 campaigns in South Carolina. Bush was in a very tight race with Senator John McCain for the Republican nomination until the South Carolina primary. After McCain's loss here, the rest of the South seemed to follow the Palmetto State's lead in picking George W. Bush as the GOP nominee.

Next Wilkins will go before the United States Senate for confirmation.