Christale Spain is an American politician currently serving as Chair of the

South Carolina Democratic Party The South Carolina Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina. History The Democratic Party thrived during the Second Party System between 1832 ...

, the first black woman to hold the role.

Education

Spain graduated from

W. J. Keenan High School Richland County School District One (abbreviated RCSD One or "Richland One"), is a school district with its headquarters in the Stevenson Administration Building in Columbia, South Carolina. RCSD One is South Carolina's fifth-largest school distri ...

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city ...

. She then attended the

University of South Carolina Aiken The University of South Carolina Aiken (USC Aiken, USCA, or South Carolina Aiken) is a public university in Aiken, South Carolina. It is part of the University of South Carolina System and offers undergraduate degree programs as well as master's ...

where she became one of the institutions premier Women's Basketball Players, becoming the first player (male or female) in the university's history to score over 1000 career points and pull down over 1000 career rebounds

She also attended Columbia College (South Carolina), Columbia College, and is a member of the

Zeta Phi Beta Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority. In 1920, five women from Howard University envisioned a sorority that would raise the consciousness of their people, encourage the highest standards of scholastic achie ...

sorority Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities in North America. Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept gradua ...

Political career

Spain worked as political director for the

Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign In the 2016 presidential campaign, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders sought the Democratic Party's nomination in a field of six major candidates and was the runner up with 46% of the pledged delegates behind former Secretary of State Hillary C ...

and was state director for the

Cory Booker 2020 presidential campaign The 2020 presidential campaign of U.S. Senator Cory Booker was announced on February 1, 2019. Booker participated in five Democratic presidential debates, but failed to qualify for the sixth debate. He suspended his campaign on January 13, 2020 ...

. She was also the Senior Advisor for Black Engagement at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. She announced her campaign for state party chair in February 2023. Spain was endorsed by her predecessor Trav Robertson, as well as

Jim Clyburn James Enos Clyburn (born July 21, 1940) is an American politician and retired educator serving as a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina. He has served as House majority whip ...

and

Jaime Harrison Jaime R. Harrison (; born February 5, 1976) is an American attorney and politician who is the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. He previously served as the chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party from 2013 to 2017. Harrison un ...

. Her role will oversee the first scheduled Democratic Party presidential primary in South Carolina in February 2024.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spain, Christale 1970s births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians African-American women in politics American political consultants Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign Columbia College (South Carolina) alumni Living people Place of birth missing (living people) South Carolina Democrats State political party chairs of South Carolina University of South Carolina alumni Year of birth uncertain