Voters removed the only three Republican women in the South Carolina Senate after the senators took on their party, barring efforts to pass a total abortion ban.
Sens. Sandy Senn, Penry Gustafson and Katrina Shealy were voted out of the run towards capturing another term in office during South Carolina’s June primaries. With their departure, the Republican Party in South Carolina will have no women on their side of the aisle when the senate convenes in 2025.
“Women, somebody else is going to have to stand up. Somebody else is going to have to come and make things right,” Senn said in her farewell speech on June 26.
There will be only two women serving in the South Carolina Senate in the 46-member South Carolina Senate in 2025, according to reporting from The Hill. An analysis from the Center of American Women in Politics showed South Carolina will have the least amount of women in its legislative branch in the entire nation. Women make up around 55% of the national electorate.
Sen. Tameika Isaac Devine of South Carolina said the gap in female representation in the state senate and house should be a concern for voters. Devine, along with fellow Democrat Sen. Margie Bright Matthews, will most likely be the only two women in the state’s senate chambers.
“No matter how much empathy men can have, they have not had babies. They have not had hysterectomies,” she said. “They haven’t had some of the health care issues or the community issues we deal with every day.”
Senn, Gustafson and Shealy were a part of a five member group dubbed the “Sister Senators,” which also included two Democratic state senators. These senators worked together to stop the passage of a total abortion ban, earning them the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage, signifying their career risk for the greater good.
However, conservative groups were quick to call the three women traitors, running a smear campaign calling them “baby killers” to get them out of office.
“When you’re on CNN and you’re on MSNBC and you’re on the front page of the New York Times and the front page of the Washington Post, you’re repeatedly sticking your finger in the eye of a lot of conservative folks,” Republican Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey said.
One conservative voter from Shealy’s district said she couldn’t vote for the senator after she split from Republicans’ stance on abortion access. In a speech after her primary loss, Shealy voiced her concerns for the future of South Carolina’s legislature.
“We’ve helped children and helped families and helped the disabled. We’ve helped women and we’ve helped veterans,” Shealy said after her runoff loss. “And what I am so worried about is who is going to do that now?”
The other four senators joined as Shealy brought out the Profile in Courage trophy during her speech following the primary loss. Not unexpectedly, the four other female senators joined her. For Shealy and her fellow “sisters,” there aren’t any regrets.
“Here it is. And it’s beautiful,” Shealy said. “And I’m proud of it. I’m proud of losing this senate race just to get this because I stood up for the right thing. I stood up for women. I stood up for children. I stood up for South Carolina. And all these sister senators with me, we’re not ashamed.”