Already, his candidacy is ruffling feathers in Washington. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), the conservative lawmaker who lent endorsements to successful Tea Party candidates like Rand Paul and Christine O’Donnell in tough primaries, backed Williams last year for a Senate run to replace Hutchison, who was then planning to leave office to run for governor before deciding to hold off until her term ended. After vowing a less hands-on approach to primaries for 2012, this week DeMint put out an email talking up Williams as an “outstanding conservative leader” and praising another dark horse, former state Solicitor General Ted Cruz, all while notably downplaying Dewhurst. His meddling irritated Senator John Cornyn (R-TX): “Is that guy from Texas?” he told Hotline On Call when asked about DeMint…

As for his unusual background, Williams admitted that he and his parents, who were Republican as well, stood out politically growing up. But he said the election of two African-American congressmen signified that those with natural conservative tendencies were no longer “being cowered by the left.”

“More African Americans are saying ‘I believe what I believe and I won’t let the left dictate to me what I believe,’” he told The Daily Beast. “‘You will not scare me, you will not cower me: I am comfortable with who I am.’”