Krystle Matthews
Krystle Matthews | |
|---|---|
| Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from the 117th district | |
| In office November 12, 2018 – November 14, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Bill Crosby |
| Succeeded by | Jordan Pace |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Krystle Simmons February 27, 1981[1][2] Sandusky, Ohio, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Children | 5 |
| Education | University of Cincinnati Trident Technical College Bowling Green State University (AA) |
Krystle N. Matthews (née Simmons;[3] born February 27, 1981) is an American politician and engineering planner. She is a former member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from the 117th district, serving from 2018 to 2022.[1] She is a member of the Democratic Party.[4]
Political career
[edit]South Carolina House of Representatives 2018
[edit]Matthews was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 2018, defeating incumbent Republican Bill Crosby. This made her the first Black woman to represent this district.[3]
Matthews was a member of the Medical, Military, Public, and Municipal Affairs committee, and of the Operations and Management committee.[1]
US Senate race 2022
[edit]On April 12, 2021, Matthews announced her candidacy in the 2022 election for South Carolina's Class 3 seat in the United States Senate.[5]
June 2022 phone recording
[edit]On June 26, 2022, audio of a prison phone call was released by the far-right activist group Project Veritas. On the recording, Matthews expresses a desire to accept money from drug dealers to fund her campaign and also calls for Democrats to run as "secret sleepers" in Republican primaries.[6] She also instructed the inmate to use the name of somebody in their family rather than their own name, without the knowledge of the family member, when making the donation.[7] Matthews won the primary runoff two days later. In reference to the recording, Matthews said, “Nothing I said was untrue. And everything I said are also things that I’ve already talked about throughout my campaign. I don't run from anything.”[6] She described the phone call with the inmate as "tongue-in-cheek" and argued that she was not advocating for any illegal activities.[8] She apologized for her language in a private conversation.[9] Matthews won the Democratic primary in a June 28 runoff.[10]
September 2022 recording
[edit]On September 8, 2022, Project Veritas again obtained a recording of Matthews making racist[11] statements about White people, resulting in calls for her resignation by Republican South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson and fellow Democrat South Carolina State House Representative Justin Bamberg.[12] In the recording, Representative Matthews states, "My district is slightly Republican, and it's heavily White. I'm no stranger to White people, I'm from a mostly White town. And let me tell you one thing. You oughta know who you're dealing with, like -- you gotta treat them like shit, like I mean that’s the only way they’ll respect you. I keep them right here, like under my thumbs. That's where I keep it. You have to, otherwise they get out of control, like kids."[13][14] In a statement, Matthews confirmed that her voice is heard in the recording and characterized the incident as an attack, referring to Project Veritas as a "satirical MAGA Powered news outlet".[15]
South Carolina House race 2022
[edit]See also: 2022 South Carolina House of Representatives election, 2022 United States state legislative elections
In the 2022 general election, Matthews ran in two races simultaneously: the US Senate and the South Carolina House of Representatives races.[16] She lost the Senate race to incumbent Tim Scott, and the South Carolina House of Representatives race to Republican challenger Jordan Pace.[17]
Personal life
[edit]Matthews was born in Sandusky, Ohio and graduated from Sandusky High School in 1999.[3] She currently resides in Ladson, South Carolina and has five children.[1] She worked as an engineering planner until 2021.[6]
Electoral history
[edit]South Carolina House of Representatives
[edit]- 2018
Matthews was the only Democrat in her district to run in 2018, so there was no Democratic primary.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Krystle Matthews | 5,577 | 53.5 | |
| Republican | Bill Crosby (incumbent) | 4,842 | 46.4 | |
| Total votes | 10,434 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic gain from Republican | ||||
- 2020
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Krystle Matthews (incumbent) | 8,902 | 52.62 | |
| Republican | Jordan Pace | 7,998 | 47.28 | |
| Total votes | 16,916 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
United States Senate
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Tim Scott (incumbent) | 1,066,274 | 62.88 | ||
| Democratic | Krystle Matthews | 627,616 | 37.01 | ||
| Write-in | 1,812 | 0.11 | |||
| Total votes | 1,695,702 | 100.0 | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "South Carolina Legislature Online - Member Biography". www.scstatehouse.gov. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
- ^ "About Krystle Matthews". Krystle Matthews For United States Senate.
- ^ a b c "SHS grad to become first Black woman to serve SC district". sanduskyregister.com. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
- ^ "Krystle Matthews's Biography". Vote Smart. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
- ^ Novelly, Thomas (April 12, 2021). "Lowcountry Democratic lawmaker announces challenge to Republican Sen. Tim Scott in 2022". Post and Courier. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
- ^ a b c A. O. L. Staff. "SC lawmaker Krystle Matthews wins Democratic nomination to take on Republican Tim Scott". www.aol.com. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
- ^ "SC Rep. Krystle Matthews responds to controversial call with inmate". June 28, 2022.
- ^ "Matthews wins Democratic US Senate nod in South Carolina". wltx.com. June 28, 2022. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
- ^ Dillane, Matt (June 30, 2022). "Krystle Matthews apologizes for leaked audio while calling on others to apologize too". WPDE. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
- ^ "State Rep. Krystle Matthews wins Democratic U.S. Senate nod in South Carolina". PBS NewsHour. June 28, 2022. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
- ^ "South Carolina U.S. Senate Candidate: 'Treat White People Like Sh*t'".
- ^ "SC Rep. Matthews won't resign or suspend Senate bid after leaked video, campaign says". MSN.
- ^ "S.C. Dem Senate Nominee Krystle Matthews: You've Got To Treat White People Like Shit, That's The Only Way They'll Respect You". RealClearPolitics . September 7, 2022.
- ^ "'Treat them like s***': Audio leaked of Lowcountry rep's disparaging comments". September 8, 2022.
- ^ "SC Democrats call on their party's US Senate nominee to quit". Associated Press News. September 9, 2022.
- ^ Byrd, Caitlin (October 26, 2022). ""Running for US Senate and SC Statehouse: Will Krystle Matthews lose both?"". The Post and Courier. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
- ^ Dennis Jr., Rickey Ciapha (November 8, 2022). ""Matthews loses SC seat; Cribb cruises to Berkeley County supervisor reelection"". The Post and Courier. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
- ^ SC Election Commission
- ^ "2022 Statewide General Election". South Carolina Election Commission.
External links
[edit]- Representative Krystle N. Matthews legislative website
- Krystle Matthews for Senate
- 21st-century African-American politicians
- 21st-century American legislators
- African-American people in South Carolina politics
- Bowling Green State University alumni
- Candidates in the 2022 United States Senate elections
- Living people
- Democratic Party members of the South Carolina House of Representatives
- 1981 births
- African-American candidates for the United States Senate