Katie Arrington
Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives
from the 94th district
In office
January 10, 2017 – January 9, 2019
Preceded byJenny Horne
Succeeded byCon Chellis
Personal details
Born
Katherine Elizabeth Stolark

(1970-12-06) December 6, 1970 (age 53)
Fairfax, Virginia, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)
Doug Homrich
​
​
(m. 1990; div. 2005)​

Robert Arrington
​
(m. 2010)​
Children2
EducationCanisius College
WebsiteCampaign website

Katherine Elizabeth Arrington (née Stolark; born December 6, 1970) is an American politician who was in the South Carolina House of Representatives from the 94th district for a single term, from 2017 to 2019.[1][2] In 2018, she defeated former South Carolina Governor and incumbent Congressman Mark Sanford in the Republican primary for South Carolina's 1st congressional district but lost to Democrat Joe Cunningham in the general election.[3] In the 2022 Republican primary, she sought to win the nomination again, but was defeated by incumbent representative Nancy Mace.[4]

She was appointed chief information security officer for acquisition for the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment.[5]

Early life and education

Arrington was born in Fairfax, Virginia. As a child, her family moved to Syracuse, New York.[6] After high school, Arrington attended Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, but left during her sophomore year to marry her first husband, Doug Homrich.[6]

Career

After applying for and receiving food stamps, Arrington and her husband filed for personal bankruptcy in 1995. They are now divorced.[6] After selling a business she started called the Breakfast Club of America, she used the proceeds to begin a career in real estate development. Later, she was hired by a small defense contracting company.[7]

2018 U.S. House campaign

Main article: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina § District 1

Arrington announced she would run for Congress in South Carolina's 1st congressional district, challenging Mark Sanford for his seat in the House in the 2018 election cycle. The Republican primary drew national media attention as it was seen as a test of how independent of President Donald Trump a Republican representative could be. Sanford had repeatedly criticized Trump since he took office. Only four Republican House members voted against Trump's interests more often than Sanford.[8][9] During the campaign, Arrington ran ads criticizing Sanford for being insufficiently supportive of Trump.[10] Her predecessor in the statehouse, Jenny Horne, had given up her seat to mount an unsuccessful challenge to Sanford in 2016.

During the race, it drew attention that Arrington, who made her pro-Trump views the centerpiece of her campaign, appeared to have been critical of Trump in 2016.[11] In a March 2016 Facebook post, she praised Mitt Romney on the night that he delivered a rebuke of then-candidate Trump, whom Romney called "a phony, a fraud" and someone who was "playing the American public for suckers".[12] Arrington also supported Marco Rubio in the 2016 Republican primary for the presidential nomination.[11]

On the day of the June 12 Republican primary, Trump endorsed Arrington over Sanford, saying she would be "tough on crime," and would "continue our fight for lower taxes."[13]

In June 2018, Arrington defeated Sanford in the Republican primary, earning 50.5% of the vote to Sanford's 46.5%. Arrington became the second person to defeat an incumbent Republican member of Congress in the 2018 election cycle.[14]

In November 2018, Arrington was narrowly defeated in the general election by Democratic nominee Joe Cunningham.[3] While Arrington carried four of the district's five counties, she was defeated in the most populated one, Charleston County, where the majority of the votes were cast.[15]

Department of Defense

Arrington joined the U.S. Department of Defense in 2019 as a "highly qualified expert" and later competed for and joined the nonpartisan Senior Executive Service. She served as the chief information security officer for acquisition for the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment.[5] The Department placed her on leave and suspended her security clearance in 2021 due to allegations of unauthorized disclosure of classified information from a military intelligence agency and misuse of office.[16][17][18]

2022 U.S. House campaign

Main article: 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina § District 1

On February 8, 2022, Arrington announced that she would again seek the nomination for South Carolina's 1st congressional district, this time against incumbent Nancy Mace.[19] On February 9, she received the endorsement of former president Donald Trump.[20] A South Carolina Medal of Honor recipient, Retired Maj. Gen. James Livingston, endorsed Arrington.[21] Arrington lost the nomination to Mace.[4]

Personal life

Arrington was married to United States Army soldier Doug Homrich from 1990 until divorcing in 2005; they have two children.[22] In 2010, she married Robert Arrington, the owner of RLA Associates.[23][24]

On June 22, 2018, Arrington was seriously injured in an accident when a drunk driver going the wrong way on a highway struck her vehicle. Arrington suffered a back fracture and broken ribs and had to have portions of her small intestine and colon removed.[25][26]

Electoral history

South Carolina's 1st congressional district, Republican primary results, 2018
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Katie Arrington 33,089 50.6
Republican Mark Sanford (incumbent) 30,428 46.5
Republican Dimitri Cherny 1,930 2.9
Total votes 65,447 100.0
South Carolina's 1st congressional district, 2018
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Joe Cunningham 145,455 50.6
Republican Katie Arrington 141,473 49.2
n/a Write-ins 505 0.2
Total votes 287,433 100.0
Democratic gain from Republican
South Carolina's 1st congressional district, 2022
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Nancy Mace (incumbent) 39,955 53%
Republican Katie Arrington 34,046 45%
Republican Lynz Piper-Loomis 1,220 2%
Total votes 75,221 100%

References

  1. ^ "Katie Arrington plans to 'shake things up' in House". journalscene.com. October 4, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  2. ^ "Representative Katherine E. "Katie" Arrington". Scstatehouse.gov. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Caitlin Byrd; Chloe Johnson. "Joe Cunningham takes SC 1st Congressional District race over Republican Kate Arrington". Post and Courier. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  4. ^ a b "South Carolina Primary Results". CNNpolitics. CNN. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  5. ^ a b Eversden, Andrew (June 25, 2020). "'Lightning in her veins': How Katie Arrington is convincing defense contractors to love cybersecurity". C4ISRNET. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c Byrd, Caitlin. "Historic win thrust Katie Arrington onto national stage. She sees it as her destiny". Post and Courier. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  7. ^ Megan Rivers (June 14, 2018). "All business: Republican candidate for S.C. Congress Katie Arrington has humble beginnings". ABC News. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  8. ^ Enten, Harry. "Sanford's primary problem shows Trump's vice grip". CNN. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
  9. ^ "Sanford loses in stunner". POLITICO. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  10. ^ "Trump slams Sanford in SC-1, backs Arrington". NBC News. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  11. ^ a b Weigel, David (June 11, 2018). "For Republican candidates, the only issue that matters is loyalty to Trump". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  12. ^ Kinnard, Meg (May 1, 2018). "Sanford: Calling him 'Never Trumper' 'doesn't make it true'". Associated Press. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  13. ^ Edelman, Adam. "GOP Rep. Mark Sanford, attacked by Trump over affair, defeated in South Carolina primary". NBC News. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  14. ^ Voorhees, Josh. "Mark Sanford Survived the "Appalachian Trail." He Couldn't Survive Trump". Slate. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  15. ^ South Carolina 2018 House results from CNN
  16. ^ Capaccio, Anthony (June 29, 2021). "Top Pentagon Cyber Official Probed Amid Disclosure Concerns". bloomberg.com. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  17. ^ Kinnard, Meg (June 30, 2021). "Former South Carolina lawmaker suspended from Pentagon job". Associated Press. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  18. ^ Cole, Brendan. "Who Is Katie Arrington? Pentagon Official Accused of Disclosing Classified Intel". Newsweek. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  19. ^ Phillips, Patrick (February 8, 2022). "Arrington announces run for Congress in SC's 1st District". WCSC Live 5 News. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  20. ^ MYCHAEL SCHNELL. "Trump endorses Rep. Nancy Mace's primary challenger".
  21. ^ BYRD, CAITLIN (March 9, 2022). "SC Medal of Honor recipient endorses Katie Arrington for Congress in blow to Nancy Mace". The State. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  22. ^ Byrd, Caitlin (August 26, 2018). "Historic win thrust Katie Arrington onto national stage. She sees it as her destiny". The Post and Courier. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  23. ^ Jenna-Ley Harrison (March 24, 2016). "Arrington files for S.C. House". journalscene.com. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  24. ^ "South Carolina Legislature Online - Member Biography".
  25. ^ Kinnard, Meg. "US House candidate who beat Sanford seriously hurt in wreck". Associated Press. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  26. ^ Yee, Gregory; Byrd, Caitlin (July 12, 2018). "Driver killed in crash with Katie Arrington was legally drunk". Post & Courier. Retrieved September 21, 2020.

External links

South Carolina House of Representatives Preceded byJenny Horne Member of the South Carolina House of Representativesfrom the 94th district 2017–2019 Succeeded byCon Chellis
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