Penry Gustafson (born May 20, 1970) is a former member of the

South Carolina Senate The South Carolina State Senate is the upper house of the South Carolina General Assembly, the lower house being the South Carolina House of Representatives. It consists of 46 senators elected from single member districts for four-year terms at ...

. She represented District 27 ( Chesterfield, Kershaw, and

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

Counties) from 2021 to 2024.

Political career

S.C. Senate

Gustafson served on the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources, Corrections and Penology, Family and Veterans' Services, and Judiciary Committees.

Tenure

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 Mia S. McLeod (born August 19, 1968) is an independent American politician who served as a member of the South Carolina Senate from the 22nd district (Kershaw County, South Carolina, Kershaw and Richland County, South Carolina, Richland Counties) ...

, Sen.

Katrina Shealy Katrina Frye Shealy (born December 25, 1954, in Columbia, South Carolina) 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 ...

(R-Lexington), Sen. Penry Gustafson (R-Kershaw), Sen. Margie Bright-Matthews (D-Colleton), and Sen.

Sandy Senn Sandy Senn (born June 27, 1963) was a member of the South Carolina Senate from the 41st District, serving from 2016 to 2024. She is a member of the Republican Party. Political career Committees Senn chairs the Charleston County Senate Legisl ...

(R-Charleston). They blocked a state senate bill that would ban all abortions in South Carolina.The Unexpected Women Blocking South Carolina's Near-Total Abortion Ban
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', Kate Zernike, May 7, 2023. Retrieved May 20, 2023. On May 23, 2023, Senate Republicans passed another bill that forbade abortion after six weeks. In September 2023 it was announced that "The Sister Senators" had been selected to receive the

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

Profiles in Courage Award The Profile in Courage Award is a private award created by the Kennedy family to recognize displays of courage similar to those John F. Kennedy originally described in his Profiles in Courage, book of the same name. It is given to individuals (of ...

. The award was presented in an October 2023 ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.

Endorsements

In June 2023, Gustafson endorsed

Tim Scott Timothy Eugene Scott (born September 19, 1965) is an American businessman and politician serving since 2013 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from South Carolina. A member of the Re ...

in the

2024 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 5, 2024. The Republican Party (United States), Republican Party's Ticket (election), ticket—Donald Trump, who was the 45th president of ...

Elections

2020 election

In 2020, though taking only one of three counties, Gustafson defeated popular Senate incumbent and two-time gubernatorial candidate, Democrat

Vincent Sheheen Vincent Austin Sheheen (born April 29, 1971) 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 ...

. She won with just 51% of the vote.

2024 election

In 2024, Gustafson faced Republican primary challenger Allen Blackmon, a Lancaster County councilman. The primary challenge was prompted, in part, by Gustafson's opposition to the state's abortion ban. Blackmon won the Republican nomination, and went on to defeat Democratic challenger Yokima Cureton in the November general election. Gustafson's defeat occurred alongside the defeats of Republican Senators

and

, who also opposed to the abortion ban.

Media portrayals

A documentary entitled “Sister Senators,” a Lynnwood Pictures and Global Neighborhood project, is now in production. Producers are Emily Harrold and Robin Hessman, co-producer is Rachel Denny. The film is executive produced by

Ruth Ann Harnisch Ruth Ann Harnisch (born 1950) is an American investor, activist, philanthropist, writer, and coach. A former news anchor and radio talk-show host, according to ''Forbes'' she was "one of the first women to anchor evening news, and had an award ...

and co-executive produced by Ann Lovell. It has been presented at Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival.Balaga, Marta (2024-11-01). "'Sister Senators' Follows Battle Against Division, Misogyny in South Carolina's Upper House: 'We Are the Losers in This Toxic Environment'". ''Variety''. Retrieved 2025-04-14.

References

External links

Sister Senators' speeches
at John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum

Ceremony
Penry Gustafson for State Senate 2024 Campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gustafson, Penry 1970 births 21st-century American women politicians Living people Newberry College alumni Republican Party South Carolina state senators Women in the South Carolina State Senate 21st-century members of the South Carolina General Assembly