Margie Bright Matthews
Member of the South Carolina Senate
from the 45th district
Assumed office
October 27, 2015
Preceded byClementa Pinckney
Personal details
Born (1963-02-10) February 10, 1963
Walterboro, South Carolina, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpousePatrick Matthews
EducationUniversity of South Carolina (BS, JD)


Margie Bright Matthews (born February 10, 1963) is a Democratic member of the South Carolina Senate, representing the 45th District since 2015, when she won a special election to succeed Clementa Pinckney, who was killed in the Charleston church shooting in 2015.[1][2] She is an attorney who founded her own law firm.[3]

Bright Matthews was among a number of African American women from around the United States who endorsed Hillary Rodham Clinton for President in 2016.[4]

In 2023, she joined with an Independent and three Republican women senators, calling themselves, "The Sister Senators": Sen. Mia McLeod (I-Richland), Sen. Katrina Shealy (R-Lexington), Sen. Penry Gustafson (R-Kershaw), Sen. Margie Bright-Matthews (D-Colleton), and Sen. Sandy Senn (R-Charleston)."[5] They blocked male state senators from passing a bill that would ban all abortions in South Carolina.[6]

In September 2023 it was announced that "The Sister Senators" had been selected to receive the John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage Award. The award was presented in an October 2023 ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "South Carolina Legislature Online - Member Biography".
  2. ↑ "SC's newest senator Margie Bright Matthews sworn in". Associated Press. January 13, 2016. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  3. ↑ Senator Margie Bright Matthews, an African-American Trailblazer for All Women in Law and Politics, Walterborolive, Anna S. Bright, February 17, 2023. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Growing List of African American Women Leaders Stand with Hillary Clinton". The American Presidency Project. February 3, 2016. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  5. ↑ The Unexpected Women Blocking South Carolina’s Near-Total Abortion Ban, New York Times, Kate Zernike, May 7, 2023. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  6. ↑ Republican women are helping block an abortion ban in South Carolina, WBTW, May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  7. ↑ LeBlanc, Steve (September 19, 2023). "'Sister senators' who fought abortion ban to receive JFK Profile in Courage award". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 19, 2023.

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