Katrina Shealy | |
|---|---|
| Member of the South Carolina Senate from the 23rd district | |
| Assumed office January 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Jake Knotts |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 25, 1954 Columbia, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | James Shealy |
| Website | Official website |
Katrina Frye Shealy (born December 25, 1954, in Columbia, South Carolina) is an American politician, and a member of the South Carolina State Senate.[1] 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 but as of May 2023, she is now one of six women currently serving in the South Carolina State Senate.[2][3][4]
She is an insurance executive and the former chairwoman of the Lexington County Republican Party. Shealy was the past Chair of the S.C. Friends of Juvenile Justice and is very active in Juvenile Justice reform.
In 2008, Shealy ran for the Republican Party's State Senate District 23 nomination against long-time incumbent state senator Jake Knotts. Despite support from prominent Republicans including United States Senator Jim DeMint,[5] Shealy was defeated. Shealy filed again as a candidate in the 2012 Republican primary. Her name was removed from the ballot after it was determined that she incorrectly filed her candidate paperwork. This case went to the SC Supreme Court and resulted in the removal of over 200 candidates from the ballot that year who had also incorrectly filed their paperwork. It was known as the Great Ballot Debacle of 2012. Shealy fought to have her name added to the general election ballot as a petition candidate and won the November 7, 2012 general election with 51% of the vote.[6]
In 2015 Shealy created a 501(c)3, Katrina's Kids, to serve children in Foster Care and Group Homes across all 46 counties in South Carolina. The foundation raises funds to send children to summer camp, participate in sporting opportunities, or any approved extracurricular activity not supported by state funding. The foundation has also helped with medical or dental funding for children. Katrina's Kids holds an Annual Music Benefit and a Race for the Case 5K event that helps supply suitcases and backpacks for children entering foster care.[7]
Shealy chairs the Senate Family and Veterans' Services Committee, and serves on the Senate Corrections and Penology, Finance, and Rules Committees.[8]
In her first term, Shealy served on the Agricultural and Natural Resources Committee, Corrections and Penology Committee, Fish, Game and Forestry Committee, General Committee, and the Judiciary Committee.[1]
In 2015, Shealy was elected First Vice Chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party.
Running against Democrat Bill Brown, Shealy was reelected to serve a third term on November 3, 2020, with 72.5% of the vote.[9] She now serves on the Finance Committee, Labor, Commerce and Industry, Rules, Family and Veteran Services, which she chairs, and Corrections and Penology. Shealy was appointed to serve on the SC Joint Citizens and Legislative Committee On Children and also serves as past chair of the Southeastern Legislative Committee Human Services and Public Safety Committee. She serves as Chair of the S.C. Suicide Prevention Committee and is a member of the S.C. Child Fatality Review Committee. Shealy serves as Chair of the Family and Veterans Services Committee and is the first Republican woman to serve as chair of a Standing Committee in the South Carolina Senate.[10] Shealy is also co-chair of the SC Suicide Prevention Coalition and a member of the Governor's Committee on Domestic Violence. She also serves on the Senate Operations and Management Committee. Senator Shealy serves on the Board for the National Foundation of Women Legislators and served as National Chair in 2022.
In 2018 Shealy was the sponsor of Legislation in SC that was signed into law by the Governor creating the Office of the Child Advocate (S805). This Agency has oversight over the nine state agencies that handle children's issues and went into effect on July 1, 2019.[11]
In 2022 Shealy received national attention for a speech criticizing her colleagues' approach to abortion legislation.[12] In 2023, she joined with a Democrat, an Independent and two other Republican women state senators, calling themselves, "The Sister Senators": Sen. Mia McLeod (I-Richland), 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 almost all abortions in South Carolina by fillibustering it.[13][14][10] On May 23, 2023, Senate Republicans passed another bill that severely restricted abortion rights to six weeks, exceptions made only in cases of rape, incest, fetal abnormalities or the woman's life or health being in danger and paving the way for a Supreme Court confrontation over its elements. Shealy had offered an alternative amendment that would have preserved some rights, including a ban expanded to twelve weeks, but it was rejected by the Senate in a 21 to 25 vote.[15] 2023 Forbes 50 over 50 Women in America.[16]
In June 2023, Shealy endorsed Tim Scott in the 2024 United States presidential election.[17]
Shealy has received the following awards:[18]
