The David Penry

SC Senator Penry Gustafson opens up about her underdog 2020 win and her life’s journey to get here

By Ashley Daniels

South Carolina Senator Penry Gustafson’s debut into the political arena plays out a lot like the Biblical story of David and Goliath. But that kind of challenge isn’t something new to her.

It’s only apropos that she won the seat for District 27 (Chesterfield, Kershaw and Lancaster counties) in 2020, a year when we all combated our own challenges. Gustafson ousted incumbent Senator Vincent Sheheen, a moderate Democrat who had led the district for two decades, running unopposed in the past three races, and was twice a candidate for governor of South Carolina. Despite raising 10 times more campaign funds than Gustafson’s $37,000, Sheheen lost his re-election bid by 876 votes.

A book she was reading, David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants by Malcolm Gladwell, helped to guide in her inspiration last year.

“I got a chance to conquer the Goliath, really, reading that book,” says Gustafson. “And a little aside about that … my older brother was four and a half years older than me, and when my parents found out they were going to have another baby, my mother wanted a daughter so bad. But they had a contingency plan. If I had been a boy, I was going to be named David, after my grandfather. I would have been David, but I’m a Penry with a David inside me.”

She says what originally inspired her to get into politics, though, was the toxic political environment that she was witnessing around her.

“I did not like the decision-making that I was seeing coming from the general assembly, and really wanted to see different decisions being made,” Gustafson. “I also wanted to see what I could do, and when I took a real close at that, it taught me I can run for office. … There’s just been a lack of common sense and decency among a lot of our political leaders, and I wanted to bring integrity back to politics – to show that politician is not be a bad word and how you could run for office and not destroy somebody else in the process.”

Even before her official win and claiming her seat on the Senate floor, Gustafson didn’t waste any time and pre-filed four different bills that were important to the district, discovered through her conversations with local leadership constituents. The bills focus on funding the needs of fire fighters and first responders and go-cart reclassifications to give local businesses more freedom. She is also a co-sponsor on about 55 pieces of legislation, with a number of those being signed into law, such as establishing a more modern health board of directors, getting the fetal heartbeat bill passed, the COVID-19 Liability Safe Harbor act, Open Carry with Training Act, laws improving child abuse response protocols and more.

“I think one of the reasons why I got elected is because I’m a real person, I don’t have a huge bank account, I’m not a lawyer and I’m not connected, so to speak,” says Gustafson. “People can relate to me and, if you can be relatable, then people are more likely to reach out to their legislature, and being accessible leads to being open to listening. That’s what I’ve been doing in the last year: listening. I’m passionate about what I do. I can hardly turn it off! I think about it when I go to bed, I wake up thinking about the initiatives I’m involved with and to-do lists in my head. I’ve never stopped. Never.”

(To her point, earlier, she confided to me that she wrote down eight pages of notes prior to our phone interview, after I had emailed her a list of prep questions.)

Born and raised in Columbia, Gustafson was named after her great-great-grandmother, Alice Armfield Penry, a published poet with books in the Library of Congress. She earned a BA from Newberry College in 1992 and took graduate courses at the University of South Carolina.

Gustafson and her first husband worked hard running a pizza franchise restaurant in the area. After they divorced, the single mom of three young children got a job working with the Richland Lexington Disabilities and Special Needs Board as a case manager, connecting adults with special needs with Medicaid services.

“It was very rewarding and I loved it, except it paid nothing,” she says. “So as a single working mom, I knew I needed to do something.”

She says she posted her resume on monster.com – a very atypical resume and cover letter that basically guaranteed that she if was hired, and your company has a good product, “I will sell the heck out of that product.”

Someone took the bait. Gustafson was hired by Memphis-based Delta Foremost Chemical Corp., which manufactures drums of industrial cleaning products, as their South Carolina sales rep. Within the first two months on the job, thankfully, she was in the top 10 percent of sales because it was 100 percent commission. Her numbers moved her up into the position of training other sales reps across the country.

“I would work for that company again in a heartbeat if I needed a job” he says. “It was a wonderful experience.”

It would be an experience that would prep her for being only one of five women in the state Senate. After she met her current husband, Todd Gustafson, and married in 2007, however, she was able to be a stay-at-home for her three children.

“I’m starting to really feel the significance of being one of five women in our state Senate,” Gustafson. “A couple months ago, there was a professional poster that was printed by the general assembly that showed all the women that serve and my picture is at the bottom. It’s forceful. It’s quite the sight to see and understand that women just bring a different perspective and  a certain enhancement and enrichment to any kind of conversation. … It’s taken me a while to get to know some of the senators, but I’ve made it my business to do that. I have been very well received and respected, and I enjoy it.”

Gustafson said she’s proud to be on the floor representing her district, an area she thinks embodies the spirit of collaborative work, play and giving, with a rich history and charm.

“There’s so much I can say about it,” she says. “I love where I live. I love South Carolina. I don’t want to live in any other place ever in my life.”

However, she says she does enjoy traveling, as well as walking Daisy, a 15-year-old lab mutt, and Grace, a black golden doodle; reading nonfiction books (not fiction); and keeping a detailed daily calendar. Gustafson also serves on the board of directors for Game Changers at the River’s Edge; as a leader for her church, Good Shepherd Lutheran; and volunteers with organizations like Meals on Wheels, The Red Cross, Kershaw Fine Arts Center, H.U.G.S. for the Homeless, Graceworks, Habitat for Humanity, Newberry College Kappa Delta Chapter Advisory Board, Transitions and more.

“I don’t have a lot of free time, but I try to make time for my closest friends, seeing them and being there for them when they need me,” says Gustafson. “And family is extremely important and making sure that there is time for us because, without those relationships, none of this means anything to me.”

Her children are now grown: William is 23 and the twins, Andrew and Maggie, are about to turn 22. As for her crave to plan ahead, does her future daily calendar include plans to run for senate in 2024?

“I am running again, and I’m planning to win again,” says Gustafson. “I have big goals. I’m one of those people who look way down the line and then walk it back to see how those things can be accomplished. What I see is a great difference in needs of South Carolina, between rural South Carolina and urban South Carolina. I represent rural, so my focus is going to be rural South Carolina and making sure we are not overlooked at a federal or state level, as far as money allocations, improving education, and promoting it.”

One big push, says Gustafson, is strengthening agribusiness in our area, an industry that alone is one of the fastest growing industries in South Carolina. It grew by 25 percent in 2020, and only 65 percent of the farms have access to broadband.

“I just hope my great-great-grandmother would be very thrilled,” she says, “to hear that her great-great-granddaughter is doing what I’m doing.”

To stay up-to-date with Senator Penry Gustafson and her next campaign, visit https://www.penryspromises.com/.