Linda Ketner
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| Linda Ketner | |
|---|---|
| Democratic nominee for U.S. Representative for South Carolina, 1st District |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | May 12, 1950 Faith, North Carolina |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence | Charleston, South Carolina |
| Alma mater | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro |
| Occupation | President/Chief Executive Officer, KSI Corporation |
| Profession | Business consultant |
| Religion | Episcopalian |
| Website | www.lindaketner.com |
Linda G. Ketner is a business consultant, philanthropist, and community activist in Charleston, South Carolina. She is President and Co-founder of KSI Leadership & Management Development.[1]
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[edit] Background
Ketner was born in Salisbury, North Carolina. She is the daughter of Ralph W. Ketner, founder of the Food Lion chain of grocery stores, and Ruth Hope of Georgetown, South Carolina.
She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1972 with a B.A. in English and holds a Masters Degree in Sociology from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
[edit] Political candidate
In February 2008 she announced her candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina's 1st congressional district, challenging Republican incumbent Henry E. Brown, Jr.[2] The district stretches from Charleston to Myrtle Beach, and has been held by Republicans since 1981. Ketner positioned ran the strongest campaign of any Democrat in the district since the party last seriously contested the seat in 1986. By September 30 she had raised $1.6 million, more than double Brown's total. This led Congressional Quarterly to change its rating of the contest to "Lean Republican." Ketner lost with 48 percent of the vote to Brown's 52 percent. She won Charleston County with 54 percent of the vote, but Brown swamped her in the suburban and rural areas. Ketner only won 44.3 percent of the vote from the more suburban and rural areas of the district.[3] This was the closest a Democrat had come to winning the district since 1986.
Had Ketner defeated Brown, she would have been the second woman elected to Congress from South Carolina in her own right, following fellow Democrat Liz J. Patterson, who represented the 4th District from 1987 to 1993. She would also been the first white Democrat to represent a significant portion of Charleston since 1981.
Ketner is openly lesbian. Although the 1st has historically been a socially conservative district, it was not thought her sexual orientation would hamper her chances because the Charleston area is not as socially conservative as the rest of the state.[4] If she had defeated Brown, she would have been the first openly gay person to represent a district in the South.
In June 2009, Ketner announced that she would not be a candidate for the same congressional seat in the 2010 election.[5]
[edit] Charitable donor
Having established the Women’s Fund, Ketner Fund, and the Fund for Social Justice at the Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina, http://www.coastalcommunityfoundation.org/ she oversees grants to organizations working for solutions to community problems.
[edit] References
- ^ KSI Corporation
- ^ Robert Behre, Ketner kicks off bid for congressional seat The Post and Courier, April 4, 2008
- ^ South Carolina 2008 General Election Results, 21 November 2008, http://www.enr-scvotes.org/SC/8562/13981/en/summary.html, retrieved 2008-12-16
- ^ Cavanaugh, Amy (31 October 2008), "Could lesbian stun GOP incumbent in S.C.?", Washington Blade, http://washblade.com/2008/10-31/news/national/13530.cfm, retrieved 2008-11-05
- ^ Schuyler Kropf, Ketner says she won't run The Post and Courier, June 10, 2009,
[edit] See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 2008#District 1
- South Carolina's 1st congressional district
[edit] External links
- Linda Ketner for U.S. Congress official campaign website
