LEXINGTON, S.C. — Sen. Katrina Shealy, South Carolina's current longest-serving female senator, on Tuesday lost her Republican primary runoff to attorney Carlisle Kennedy.
Shealy said she called Kennedy to concede a little after 8 p.m.
Unofficial results as of 11 p.m. showed Kennedy with nearly 62.5% of the vote to Shealy's 37.5%.
She told reporters Kennedy did not answer, so she left a voicemail congratulating him on his win.
"There is no pathway to victory," Shealy told reporters.
In a Facebook post, Kennedy said, in part, "I am deeply honored and grateful for the trust you have placed in me by electing me as your next State Senator. This victory would not have been possible without the unwavering support of each and every one of you. I would also like to thank Senator Shealy for her years of service to our community."
Kennedy does not face a challenger in November.
In a chamber with few women — six total, split by three Republicans, two Democrats and one Independent — the Lexington County senator is the third Republican female incumbent to lose her primary.
State Sens. Penry Gustafson, of Kershaw, and Sandy Senn, of Charleston, both lost their June 11 primaries to male challengers.
Independent Sen. Mia McLeod of Richland County did not seek reelection. Her Democratic-leaning district will be represented by a man in 2025. State Sen. Margie Bright Matthews, D-Colleton, does not have an election challenger. And the newest female senator, Sen. Tameika Isaac Devine, D-Richland, faces a third-party challenger in November.
Gustafson and Senn campaigned for Shealy Tuesday.
Both attended her runoff party.
So did Devine and Matthews.
"I am so proud of them for standing up for me, and they're standing up for women everywhere," Shealy told reporters earlier Tuesday. "I just hate the fact that it's come to this, where we aren't going to have as many women."
In 2012, Shealy beat former Sen. Jake Knotts to become the sole woman in the Senate chamber.
In a chamber built around seniority, Shealy later became chair of the Senate's Family and Veterans’ Services Committee. As a senator, Shealy's work has focused on children, vulnerable adults, Alzheimer's, veterans and embattled state agencies.
But Shealy's opposition with her dubbed "sister senators" to a near-total abortion ban and, later, a six-week ban made her and her Republican colleagues a target of anti-abortion advocates.
Kennedy's campaign website said said he was running, in part, to "safeguard the freedoms and rights we cherish today for the sake of our unborn child and all future generations."
Shealy told reporters she had no regrets over her votes.
