Penry Gustafson | |
---|---|
Member of the South Carolina Senate from the 27th district | |
Assumed office January 2021 | |
Preceded by | Vincent Sheheen |
Personal details | |
Born | Columbia,South Carolina,U.S. | May 20,1970
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Todd Gustafson (m. 2007) |
Children | 3 |
Education | Newberry College (BA) University of South Carolina |
Profession | Politician |
Penry Gustafson (born May 20, 1970) is a member of the South Carolina Senate. Since 2021, she has represented District 27 (Chesterfield, Kershaw, and Lancaster Counties).
Gustafson served on the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources, Corrections and Penology, Family and Veterans' Services, and Judiciary Committees. [1]
In early May 2023, Gustafson joined with a Democrat, an Independent and two other Republican women state senators, calling themselves, "The Sister Senators": Sen. Mia McLeod, Sen. Katrina Shealy (R-Lexington), Sen. Penry Gustafson (R-Kershaw), Sen. Margie Bright-Matthews (D-Colleton), and Sen. Sandy Senn (R-Charleston). They blocked male state senators from passing a bill that would ban all abortions in South Carolina. [2] [3] On May 23, 2023, Senate Republicans passed another bill that severely restricted abortion rights to six weeks, a time when most women don't even know they're pregnant, exceptions made only in cases of rape, incest, fetal abnormalities or the woman's life or health, and paving the way for a Supreme Court confrontation over its elements. [4]
In September 2023 it was announced that "The Sister Senators" had been selected to receive the John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage Award. The award was presented in an October 2023 ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. [5]
In June 2023, Gustafson endorsed Tim Scott in the 2024 United States presidential election. [6]
In 2020, though taking only one of three counties, Gustafson defeated popular Senate incumbent and two-time gubernatorial candidate, Democrat Vincent Sheheen. She won with just 51% of the vote. [7]
In 2024, Gustafson faced Republican primary challenger Allen Blackmon, a Lancaster County councilman. This right flank challenge is prompted, in part, by Gustafson's opposition to the state's abortion ban. [8] [9] Blackmon won the Republican nomination, [10] and will go on to face Democratic challenger Yokima Cureton in the November general election. [11]
The 2010 South Carolina gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 2010. Incumbent Republican Governor Mark Sanford was term limited and unable to seek re-election. Primary elections took place on June 8, 2010, and a runoff election, as was necessary on the Republican side, was held two weeks later on June 22.
Thomas C. Alexander is an American businessman and politician. Since 2021, he has been serving as the second President of the South Carolina Senate. A member of the Republican Party, he has represented South Carolina's 1st Senate District since 1994 and has represented parts of Oconee County, specifically the city of Walhalla, for over forty years.
Vincent Austin Sheheen is an American attorney and politician. He was a member of the South Carolina Senate from 2004 to 2020, representing the 27th District, which comprises Chesterfield, Kershaw, and Lancaster counties. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He was a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from 2001 to 2004. He ran for Governor of South Carolina twice, in 2010 and 2014, losing both times to Nikki Haley. In 2020, Sheheen lost reelection to Republican Penry Gustafson.
C. Bradley Hutto is an American politician currently serving as a Democratic member of the South Carolina Senate, representing Senate District 40 since 1996. He is the Democratic Minority Leader in the Senate, succeeding Nikki Setzler on November 17, 2020.
Timothy Eugene Scott is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator from South Carolina since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a Charleston city councilor, a state representative, and a U.S. Representative. He also worked in financial services before entering politics.
Lee Bright is an American politician who served as the South Carolina State Senator from the 12th district from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Republican Party, his district included Spartanburg County and Greenville County. Bright unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate in 2014 and U.S. House of Representatives in 2018.
The 2014 South Carolina gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the Governor of South Carolina, concurrently with the regularly-scheduled election and special election to both of South Carolina's U.S. Senate seats, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
Katrina Frye Shealy is an American politician, and a member of the South Carolina State Senate. She is a Republican but was elected as a petition candidate from District 23 in Lexington County. At the time of her election in 2012, she was the only woman in the South Carolina Senate and in May of 2023, was one of six women serving in the South Carolina State Senate.. She was defeated in a runoff in 2024.
Mia S. McLeod is an independent American politician serving as a member of the South Carolina Senate from the 22nd district. On June 3, 2021, McLeod announced her candidacy for the 2022 South Carolina gubernatorial election, becoming the first Black woman to run for Governor of South Carolina, generating national and international headlines.
A special election was held on June 20, 2017, to determine the member of the United States House of Representatives for South Carolina's 5th congressional district. Representative Mick Mulvaney was nominated by President Donald Trump as director of the Office of Management and Budget and confirmed by the United States Senate on February 16, 2017, necessitating his resignation from the House of Representatives.
The 2024 United States elections are scheduled to be held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. During this presidential election year, the president and vice president will be elected. In addition, all 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives and 34 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate will be contested to determine the membership of the 119th United States Congress. Thirteen state and territorial governorships and numerous other state and local elections will also be contested.
Margie Bright Matthews is a Democratic member of the South Carolina Senate, representing the 45th District since 2015, when she won a special election to succeed Clementa Pinckney, who was killed in the Charleston church shooting in 2015. She is an attorney who founded a law firm.
Abortion in South Carolina is legal up to when embryonic cardiac-cell activity can be detected, usually around 6 weeks from the woman's last menstrual period, when many women are not yet aware that they are pregnant. On May 25, 2023, Governor Henry McMaster signed a 6-week ban, and it took effect immediately. The ban was indefinitely blocked in court on May 26, and reinstated by the South Carolina Supreme Court on August 23.
Rex Fontaine Rice is an American politician and businessman. He has represented South Carolina's 2nd Senate District since 2016. Previously, Rice represented House District 26 in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1994 to 2010. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Richard J. Cash is an American businessman and politician. Since 2017, Cash has represented South Carolina's 3rd Senate District. He is a member of the Republican party.
Sandy Senn is a member of the South Carolina Senate from the 41st District, serving since 2016. She is a member of the Republican Party.
The 2020 South Carolina State Senate elections took place as part of the biennial 2020 United States elections. South Carolina voters elected state senators in all 46 senate districts. State senators serve four-year terms in the South Carolina Senate, with all of the seats up for election each cycle. The primary elections on June 9, 2020, determined which candidates appeared on the November 3, 2020, general election ballot.
Matt W. Leber is an American politician and Republican member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, representing District 116. He is the Republican nominee for South Carolina State Senate District 41.
The 2024 South Carolina Senate election will be held on November 5, 2024, alongside the 2024 United States elections. Primary elections will take place on June 11, 2024.
Carlisle Kennedy is an American politician, and a member-elect of the South Carolina State Senate. He defeated incumbent Senator Katrina Shealy in a runoff in 2024.