**Three Female GOP Senators in SC Who Opposed Abortion Ban Lose Primaries**
In a significant political shift, South Carolina’s longest-serving female senator, Katrina Shealy, was defeated in her primary runoff by attorney Carlisle Kennedy. Kennedy, the son of a former legislator, won by a substantial 25 percentage points. The race was marked by aggressive campaigning, including misleading mailings, billboards, a website, and TV ads that accused Shealy of abandoning her conservative principles.
Shealy, who has served since 2012, expressed uncertainty about her future plans but mentioned she intends to relax after 12 years of dedicated service. “Will it be Alzheimer’s or children’s issues or women’s issues? I’m not sure yet, but it may be trying to get more women involved in politics,” she told the SC Daily Gazette via text. Shealy added, “I’m not upset about my loss. I’m curious about how this job will get done by men. I feel a loss for the people of South Carolina.”
Kennedy did not respond to requests for comment.
Shealy was the last of three Republican women, known as the “sister senators,” to be ousted in the June primaries. The other two, Sen. Penry Gustafson and Sen. Sandy Senn, lost their seats on June 11. All three had played pivotal roles in blocking a near-total abortion ban and opposed the six-week ban that eventually became law last year.
Freshman Sen. Penry Gustafson, R-Camden, lost by a wide margin, while Sen. Sandy Senn, R-Charleston, was narrowly defeated by just 33 votes. This leaves only two women in the 46-member South Carolina Senate, both of whom are Democrats. The upcoming November elections will determine if this number increases, but female candidates face tough odds in districts that are considered safe for the opposing party.
Richland County councilman Overture Walker won the Democratic runoff to replace Sen. Mia McLeod, the Democrat-turned-Independent “sister senator” who did not seek re-election. Walker defeated Rep. Ivory Thigpen, a pastor and chiropractor who chairs the S.C. Legislative Black Caucus. Thigpen will be leaving the Statehouse after eight years in the House.
In another primary runoff, freshman Sen. Billy Garrett, R-Greenwood, retained his seat against challenger Charles Bumgardner, a dentist from Lexington County. Senate District 10 covers all of Greenwood County and parts of Saluda and Lexington counties.
The only Statehouse seat with both Democratic and Republican runoffs was Senate District 35. The open seat was previously held by Democrat Sen. Thomas McElveen III of Sumter, who opted not to seek re-election after 12 years. Mike Jones, a 36-year Army veteran, won the Republican runoff against Richland District 2 School Board member Lindsay Agostini of Elgin by more than 40 percentage points. The Democratic primary runoff was too close to call, with less than a percentage point separating Jeffrey Graham, the former mayor of Camden, and teacher Austin Floyd of Sumter, potentially leading to an automatic recount.
Rep. Jason Elliott, a Greenville attorney, won a GOP runoff against Ben Carper, a Greenville real estate broker, to replace retiring Sen. Dwight Loftis. Elliott is expected to be the new senator, as no Democrat or third-party candidates are running for the seat.
On the House side, two candidates aligned with the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus won runoffs for open Upstate seats. In the Greenville County district held by Rep. Ashley Trantham since 2018, retired pastor Chris Huff easily defeated Kerri Smith, the regional president for Self-Help Credit Union. In the Spartanburg County seat represented by Roger Nutt, Sarita Edgerton, a real estate agent, won over JoAnne LaBounty, the president and CEO of Spartanburg Meat Processing Co.
Nutt, a two-term House member, won his own primary runoff against former Sen. Lee Bright, a firebrand Republican who was attempting to reclaim his seat eight years after being ousted by voters.
Former state Rep. Jerry Govan of Orangeburg won the Democratic primary runoff in his bid to return to the House, defeating Johnny Felder, the son of former Rep. John Felder. The seat was left open when Rep. Russell Ott, D-St. Matthews, decided to run for Senate. Ott won his primary two weeks ago. Govan will face Republican Krista Hassell in November. Govan did not seek re-election in 2022 after post-census redistricting resulted in his home being drawn out of the district he had represented for 30 years.
The runoff also determined who Ott would run against for the Senate seat vacated by Sen. Nikki Setzler, D-West Columbia, who is retiring after 48 years. Republican Jason Guerry of Columbia, who works in construction, defeated Chris Smith of West Columbia.
The defeat of the three female GOP senators who opposed the abortion ban has raised questions about the future of abortion legislation in South Carolina. Republican strategist Dave Wilson believes their stance on abortion played a key role in their losses. “The harsh stance that the Republican women took on the issue of abortion created an opportunity for their opposition to create enough doubt in the minds of the voters to say, ‘Do I really want to give this person another chance?’” Wilson said.
The two remaining “sister senators” who are likely to hold on to their seats are both Democrats: Margie Bright Matthews, who is running unopposed, and Tameika Isaac Devine, who won her primary by a wide margin and faces a third-party candidate in her solid blue district this November. Meanwhile, Sen. Mia McLeod is not seeking re-election.
The still-unofficial results have sparked speculation about whether this shift will bring abortion back to the legislative agenda next year. While some conservative lawmakers may push for a total ban, Wilson does not believe it will gain enough support to pass. McLeod, however, argues that the issue of abortion has never left the agenda in the Republican-dominated State House.
Source: SC Daily Gazette, WRDW/WAGT
