Katie Arrington

Katie Arrington (born December 6, 1970) is an American businesswoman and politician who served in the South Carolina House of Representatives from the 94th district from 2017 to 2019.[1][2] She defeated former South Carolina Governor and incumbent Congressman Mark Sanford in the Republican primary for South Carolina's 1st congressional district on June 12, 2018. In November 2018, Arrington lost the general election to Democrat Joe Cunningham.[3] She was later appointed chief information security officer for acquisition for the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment.[4]

Katie Arrington
Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives
from the 94th district
In office
January 10, 2017 – January 9, 2019
Preceded byJenny Horne
Succeeded byCon Chellis
Personal details
Born (1970-12-06) December 6, 1970
Virginia, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Robert Arrington
Children3

Early life and education

Arrington was born in Fairfax, Virginia. As a child, her family moved to Syracuse, New York.[5] After high school, Arrington attended Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, but left during her sophomore year to marry her first husband, Doug Homrich.[5]

Career

After applying for and receiving food stamps, Arrington and her husband filed for personal bankruptcy in 1995. They are now divorced.[5] After selling a business she started called the Breakfast Club of America, she used the proceeds to begin a career in real estate development. Later, she started a defense contracting company.[6]

2018 U.S. House campaign
Main article: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina § District 1

Arrington announced she would run for Congress in South Carolina's 1st congressional district, challenging Mark Sanford for his seat in the House in the 2018 election cycle. The Republican primary drew national media attention as it was seen as a test of how independent of President Donald Trump a Republican representative could be. Sanford had repeatedly criticized Trump since he took office. Only four Republican House members voted against Trump's interests more often than Sanford.[7][8] During the campaign, Arrington ran ads criticizing Sanford for being insufficiently supportive of Trump.[9] Her predecessor in the state house, Jenny Horne, had given up her seat to mount an unsuccessful challenge to Sanford in 2016.

During the race, it drew attention that Arrington, who made her pro-Trump views the centerpiece of her campaign, appeared to have been critical of Trump in 2016.[10] In a March 2016 Facebook post, she praised Mitt Romney on the night that he delivered a rebuke of then-candidate Trump, whom Romney called "a phony, a fraud" and someone who was "playing the American public for suckers".[11] Arrington also supported Marco Rubio in the 2016 Republican primary for the presidential nomination.[10]

On the day of the June 12 Republican primary, Trump endorsed Arrington over Sanford, saying she would be "tough on crime," and would "continue our fight for lower taxes."[12]

In June 2018, Arrington defeated Sanford in the Republican primary, earning 50.5% of the vote to Sanford's 46.5%. Arrington became the second person to defeat an incumbent Republican member of Congress in the 2018 election cycle.[13]

In November 2018, Arrington was defeated in the general election by Democratic nominee Joe Cunningham.[3] While Arrington carried four of the district's five counties, she was defeated in Charleston County.[14]

Personal life

Arrington and her first husband have three children. She later married Rob Arrington, the owner of RLA Associates.[15]

On June 22, 2018, Arrington was seriously injured in an accident when a drunk driver going the wrong way on a highway struck her vehicle. Arrington suffered a back fracture and broken ribs and had to have portions of her small intestine and colon removed.[16][17]

Electoral history
Republican primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Katie Arrington 33,089 50.6
Republican Mark Sanford (incumbent) 30,428 46.5
Republican Dimitri Cherny 1,930 2.9
Total votes 65,447 100.0

Results
South Carolina's 1st congressional district, 2018
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Joe Cunningham 145,455 50.6
Republican Katie Arrington 141,473 49.2
n/a Write-ins 505 0.2
Total votes 287,433 100.0
Democratic gain from Republican

References
  1. "Katie Arrington plans to 'shake things up' in House". journalscene.com. October 4, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  2. "Representative Katherine E. "Katie" Arrington". Scstatehouse.gov. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  3. cjohnson@postandcourier.com, Caitlin Byrd and Chloe Johnson cbyrd@postandcourier.com. "Joe Cunningham takes SC 1st Congressional District race over Republican Kate Arrington". Post and Courier. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  4. Eversden, Andrew (June 25, 2020). "'Lightning in her veins': How Katie Arrington is convincing defense contractors to love cybersecurity". C4ISRNET. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  5. cbyrd@postandcourier.com, Caitlin Byrd. "Historic win thrust Katie Arrington onto national stage. She sees it as her destiny". Post and Courier. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  6. Megan Rivers (June 14, 2018). "All business: Republican candidate for S.C. Congress Katie Arrington has humble beginnings". ABC News. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  7. Enten, Harry. "Sanford's primary problem shows Trump's vice grip". CNN. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
  8. "Sanford loses in stunner". POLITICO. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  9. "Trump slams Sanford in SC-1, backs Arrington". NBC News. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  10. Weigel, David (June 11, 2018). "For Republican candidates, the only issue that matters is loyalty to Trump". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  11. Kinnard, Meg (May 1, 2018). "Sanford: Calling him 'Never Trumper' 'doesn't make it true'". Associated Press. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  12. Edelman, Adam. "GOP Rep. Mark Sanford, attacked by Trump over affair, defeated in South Carolina primary". NBC News. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  13. Voorhees, Josh. "Mark Sanford Survived the "Appalachian Trail." He Couldn't Survive Trump". Slate. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  14. South Carolina 2018 House results from CNN
  15. Jenna-Ley Harrison (March 24, 2016). "Arrington files for S.C. House". journalscene.com. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  16. Kinnard, Meg. "US House candidate who beat Sanford seriously hurt in wreck". Associated Press. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  17. Yee, Gregory; Byrd, Caitlin (July 12, 2018). "Driver killed in crash with Katie Arrington was legally drunk". Post & Courier. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
South Carolina House of Representatives
Preceded by
Jenny Horne		 Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives
from the 94th district
2017–2019		 Succeeded by
Con Chellis
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