| Penry Gustafson | |
| State Senate: | South Carolina |
| District: | 27th |
| Term Start: | January 2021 |
| Predecessor: | Vincent Sheheen |
| Birth Date: | 20 May 1970 |
| Birth Place: | Columbia, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Party: | Republican |
| Education: | Newberry College (BA) University of South Carolina |
| Profession: | Politician |
| Children: | 3 |
Penry Gustafson (born May 20, 1970) is a member of the South Carolina Senate. Since 2021, she has represented District 27 (Chesterfield, Kershaw, and Lancaster Counties).
Gustafson served on the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources, Corrections and Penology, Family and Veterans' Services, and Judiciary Committees.[1]
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, 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 all abortions in South Carolina.[2] [3] On May 23, 2023, Senate Republicans passed another bill that severely restricted abortion rights to six weeks, a time when most women don't even know they're pregnant, exceptions made only in cases of rape, incest, fetal abnormalities or the woman's life or health, and paving the way for a Supreme Court confrontation over its elements.[4]
In September 2023 it was announced that "The Sister Senators" had been selected to receive the John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage Award. The award was presented in an October 2023 ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.[5]
In June 2023, Gustafson endorsed Tim Scott in the 2024 United States presidential election.[6]
In 2020, though taking only one of three counties, Gustafson defeated popular Senate incumbent and two-time gubernatorial candidate, Democrat Vincent Sheheen. She won with just 51% of the vote.[7]
In 2024, Gustafson faced Republican primary challenger Allen Blackmon, a Lancaster County councilman. This right flank challenge is prompted, in part, by Gustafson's opposition to the state's abortion ban.[8] [9] Blackmon won the Republican nomination,[10] and will go on to face Democratic challenger Yokima Cureton in the November general election.[11]