Born in Atlanta, Georgia, he received his bachelor's degree from the University of Alabama and his law degree from the University of Florida. After practicing law at a major firm in Pensacola, Florida for four years, he was elected to Congress at the age of 32.

Scarborough resigned shortly afterward for family reasons, and became a member of the President's Council on the 21st Century Workforce. He left that post in 2003 to work on television.