A longtime former Columbia city council member will join the South Carolina Senate, becoming just the sixth woman currently serving in the 46-member legislative chamber.
Democrat Tameika Isaac Devine won a special election Tuesday to take the Columbia-area seat previously held by the late John Scott, a Democratic lawmaker who spent more than 30 years in the South Carolina General Assembly before his death this August.
Isaac Devine got over 85% of the vote in the Democratic stronghold, according to unofficial results from the South Carolina Election Commission. Only 7.5% of registered voters reportedly turned out for the contest.
REPUBLICAN WV DELEGATE CALEB HANNA RESIGNS TO FOCUS ON STATE AUDITOR CAMPAIGN
The results are expected to be certified Thursday ahead of next week’s start to the 2024 legislative session.
Tameika Isaac Devine has resoundingly won a special election for an open South Carolina state Senate seat.
Isaac Devine lost a tight runoff in the 2021 Columbia mayoral race. A real estate attorney, she served on the Columbia City Council from 2002 to 2021. Her campaign touted her leadership on a training program for unemployed citizens, as well as efforts to establish a criminal domestic court and homeless court. She also founded a consulting firm that helps working mothers balance professional success with family life.
Bob Coble, the Columbia mayor when Isaac Devine first joined the city council, wrote that the senator-elect will “work with all sides” like she did at the local level.
Congratulations also came from independent state Sen. Mia McLeod, a member of the all-woman bipartisan coalition recognized nationally for their filibuster last year of a near-total abortion ban.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“…and then there were 6!!!” McLeod wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Thank you, Senate District 19, for sending us another strong Sister-Senator!!”
