South Carolina Sen. Katrina Shealy has lived in Lexington her entire life, it’s home and she said she is extremely proud to represent the county in the S.C. Senate.

Shealy began working in Batesburg -Leesville at the age of 13 as a bagger at the local Piggly Wiggly her parents owned.

After graduating from Batesburg-Leesville High School, Shealy got her insurance license and began her career. She says she has been working in insurance for about 43 years.

Shealy began her political career in 2008 when she forced Sen. Jake Knotts to a run-off election but fell short in the end. She decided to run again in 2012, and won as a petition candidate.

She was kicked off the ballot, along with 232 other candidates across the state, because of a filing error, but was not discouraged. She decided to stay in the race by obtaining the required signatures to appear on the ballot and ended up beating Knotts. She said she was the only petition candidate to beat an incumbent during the 2012 election.

During her time in the state legislature, Shealy has been recognized across the state and country for her work in the Senate.

Forbes named Shealy as one of America’s “50 most influential women over 50” in 2023.

Shealy has been married to her husband, Jimmy Shealy, for 27 years and they have three daughters and five grandchildren. 

Shealy prides herself on the work she has done for children in foster care, veterans, protecting senior citizens and against domestic violence.

Shealy faced opposition both on the campaign trail and in her personal life over her vote against the Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act in 2023.

The bill – which ultimately passed and became law in May 2023 – prohibited abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected – typically around six weeks, with exceptions for rape or incest during the first 12 weeks of a pregnancy, medical emergencies or fatal fetal anomalies.

Both of her opponents – Carlisle Kennedy and Zoe Warren – say they would have voted in support of the 2023 abortion bill, saying Shealy is not pro-life.

“To be characterized as not pro-life is ridiculous,” Shealy told The Chronicle. “I have saved thousands of children’s lives during my time in office. The only difference between my view and my opponents' [view] is that they don’t think there should ever be any exceptions. I don’t want to criminalize women who were raped. I believe in exceptions. [Kennedy and Warren] don’t.”

Shealy has also had her car tires slashed, a pellet gun shot through her sun room window and pamphlets handed out at her church, from a non-member, calling her a baby killer after her vote against the bill.

She says those intimidation tactics don’t work, but they are costly.

“I wish I could catch them because right now I’m out over $2,000 dollars,” she said.

Today, Shealy chairs the Family and Veterans’ Services Committee and sits on five other committees including Finance, Rules, Corrections, Joint Bond Review and Labor and Commerce.

“Lexington needs representation on the Finance Committee,” Shealy said. “If I’m not [in the senate] then Lexington won’t have any representation on that committee, and it needs representation there. The senate works by seniority; a new senator would be stuck in a committee like Judiciary and won’t be as an effective leader for our district.”

Shealy is looking for another four years to represent the county she has lived in her whole life.

“What I enjoy most about serving Lexington are the people,” she said. "Being able to serve and help people you have grown up with all your life. I love seeing what I have been able to do to impact the lives of real people in Lexington County and all across South Carolina.”