SEVEN FOR THE FIFTH …
The field for the “Fightin’ Fifth” continues to grow …
Penry Gustafson – a former corporate sales representative from Columbia, S.C. – has announced her intention to seek the Palmetto State’s fifth congressional district seat.
Gustafson says her campaign will focus on restoring “decency, honor, and respect to our publicly held positions.” She also wants to “reduce unemployment,” “strive for racial reconciliation” and “establish term limits.”
Gustafson – who spends her time serving her “family, church and community” – is the seventh candidate to enter this special congressional election. Filing for the seat officially opened today (March 3) at high noon, and will close at the same hour on Monday, March 13.
Gustafson said she hopes her campaign will help grow the GOP tent in this district – which went overwhelmingly for U.S. president Donald Trump in 2016.
“The Republican Party needs to broaden its scope by reaching out to more voices and being more inclusive,” she wrote on her campaign page.
Joining Gustafson in this field are Indian Land attorney Kris Wampler, S.C. speaker pro tempore Tommy Pope of York, former S.C. Rep. Ralph Norman (a developer from Rock Hill), Camden businessman and S.C. State Guard leader Tom Mullikin, social conservative activist Sheri Few of Lugoff and former SCGOP chairman Chad Connelly of Prosperity.
The race for the fifth district unofficially kicked off back on December 2 when this website exclusively reported that its former occupant, Mick Mulvaney, was in line to become the next director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
Mulvaney had held the office since January of 2011 – defeating U.S. House budget committee chairman John Spratt in the Tea Party wave election of 2010.
The fifth district (map) covers the northern central portion of South Carolina – including the booming suburbs of Charlotte, N.C. It has been reliably Republican since it was redrawn prior to the 2012 elections – which is one reason Democrats are having trouble getting top prospects (like S.C. Rep. Mandy Powers Norrell) to consider running for the seat.
Banner via Penry Gustafson for Congress