South Carolina has seen a significant decrease in the number of female lawmakers following the recent elections. The state’s Republican women in the Senate lost their primaries earlier this year after opposing a total abortion ban. As a result, only two Democratic women will be part of the 46-member Senate next year. This makes South Carolina the state with the fewest women in its upper chamber, despite women accounting for 55% of registered voters in the state.
The lack of female representation in South Carolina’s legislature is a concern, with only 13% of lawmakers being women, making it the second lowest state in the country in terms of female representation. The majority of members in the state legislature were elected in 2012 or before, which means it may be decades before a Republican woman can rise to a leadership position due to the seniority-based system for leadership positions in the chamber.
This decrease in female lawmakers is a part of a larger trend seen in at least thirteen states following the recent elections. With the number of female lawmakers decreasing in several states, there is concern about the lack of diversity and representation in state legislatures across the country. West Virginia is the only state with a smaller proportion of women in its legislature than South Carolina.
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