Spain becomes 1st Black woman as chair of SC Democrats

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Christale Spain has been elected chair of South Carolina’s Democratic Party, ABC News reports.

A longtime party member, Spain is making history as the first black woman to lead in the Democrats’ leadoff voting state for the 2024 presidential election, according to ABC News says.

Spain was elected at the party’s convention in Columbia on Saturday. She joins a wave of democratic change across these states: Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, and South Carolina; all five have black women as the chair of their state parties, ABC News reports.

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She referred to her victory as ‘a historic moment for our party and for women’ and stated that year-round voter engagement would be a top priority, ABC News says.

“I now know from all the experience, all of the volunteering, all of the jobs that I’ve held, the importance of this role, who is setting the stage, who is implementing the strategy, so that we can win,” Spain told reporters afterward, ABC News reports.

Spain takes over control from Trav Robertson, the party’s leader since 2017, who announced earlier in the year that he was not seeking reelection, according to ABC News reports.

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