COLUMBIA — South Carolina’s longest-serving female senator was defeated by her primary runoff challenger, attorney Carlisle Kennedy. 

Sen. Katrina Shealy conceded Tuesday night to Kennedy, the son of a former legislator, who won by 25 percentage points.  

The race got nasty in misleading mailings, billboards, a website and TV ads that accused Shealy of no longer being a conservative.

Shealy said she’s not sure what she’ll do next, but she plans to relax after 12 years of working hard for her constituents, then “find my passion and dive in.

“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. “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 the Gazette for comment.

Freshman Sen. Penry Gustafson, R-Camden, was trounced two weeks ago by an overwhelming margin, while Sen. Sandy Senn, R-Charleston, lost by just 33 votes. That leaves two women in the 46-member chamber, both Democrats.

Shealy, first elected in 2012, was the last of three Republican women to be ousted in the June primaries. The other two GOP “sister senators” lost June 11. All three helped block a near-total abortion ban and opposed the six-week ban that ultimately became law last year.  

The November elections will determine whether that number grows. But the female candidates trying to oust senators in the general election face big odds, as they’re running in districts considered safe for the other 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 beat Rep. Ivory Thigpen, a pastor and chiropractor who is chairman of the S.C. Legislative Black Caucus. Thigpen will be leaving the Statehouse after eight years in the House. 

The only other senator in a primary runoff, freshman Sen. Billy Garrett, R-Greenwood, held his seat against challenger Charles Bumgardner, a dentist living in 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 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, easily won the Republican runoff against Richland District 2 School Board member Lindsay Agostini of Elgin. Jones, of Camden, led by more than 40 percentage points in the district that spans parts of Richland, Kershaw, Sumter and Lee counties. 

Who Jones will face in November remained unclear late Tuesday. Less than a percentage point separated the Democrats in a primary runoff: Jeffrey Graham, the former mayor of Camden and a current council member, had a slight lead over teacher Austin Floyd of Sumter. That could be headed 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 the presumed new senator, as no Democrat or third-party candidates is running for the seat.

On the House side, two candidates aligned with the uber-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 beat 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 in Spartanburg, 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 trying to get his seat back eight years after voters ousted him. 

Former state Rep. Jerry Govan of Orangeburg won the Democratic primary runoff in his bid to return to the House, after 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 didn’t seek re-election in 2022 after post-census redistricting resulted in his home being drawn out of the district he’d 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’s retiring after 48 years. Republican Jason Guerry of Columbia, who works in construction, defeated Chris Smith, of West Columbia.

SC Daily Gazette is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. SC Daily Gazette maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Seanna Adcox for questions: [email protected]. Follow SC Daily Gazette on Facebook and X.