Mandy Powers Norrell (born July 12, 1973) is an American lawyer, politician and former Democratic member of the

South Carolina House of Representatives The South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly. It consists of 124 representatives elected to two-year terms at the same time as U.S. congressional elections. Unlike many legislatures, seati ...

. Norrell formerly represented House District 44, which comprises the southern portion of Lancaster County. Norrell is an attorney and licensed to practice in both North and South Carolina, in South Carolina State and Federal Courts, and in the United States Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Prior to her election into the South Carolina House of Representatives Norrell was the city attorney for the City of Lancaster from 1999 through 2012, and Town Attorney for the Town of

Kershaw, South Carolina Kershaw is a town in Lancaster County, South Carolina, United States. It was incorporated in 1888. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,803, and as of 2019 the estimated population was 2,321. The Haile Gold Mine, where gold was discovered ...

from 2010 through 2012.

Early life, education and career

Mandy Powers Norrell was born in 1973 in Lancaster, South Carolina, the daughter of Beverly B. and the late Carl R. Powers. She graduated cum laude with a B.A. from Furman University in 1995. Powers Norrell received her Juris Doctor degree from the

University of South Carolina School of Law The University of South Carolina School of Law, also known as South Carolina Law School, is a professional school within the University of South Carolina. The school of law was founded in 1867, and remains the only public and non-profit law schoo ...

in 1997, from which she also graduated cum laude, Order of the Coif, and Order of the Wig and Robe. Norrell has been a practicing attorney since 1997. She is a member of First Baptist Church, Lancaster, South Carolina, and a partner at Norrell and Powers Norrell, LLC.

South Carolina House of Representatives

Mandy Powers Norrell was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives on November 6, 2012, to succeed James M. Neal. She was sworn into office on December 4, 2012.

Committee assignments

• Agricultural, Natural Resources, and Environmental Affairs Committee In 2016 she gave the official Democratic response to Governor

Nikki Haley Nimrata Nikki Haley (née Randhawa; born January 20, 1972) is an American diplomat and politician who served as the 116th and first female governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017, and as the 29th United States ambassador to the United Na ...

's State of the State address. On May 5, 2018, James Smith selected her as his

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

running mate in his bid for

Governor of South Carolina The governor of South Carolina is the head of government of South Carolina. The governor is the '' ex officio'' commander-in-chief of the National Guard when not called into federal service. The governor's responsibilities include making year ...

in the 2018 election, but they were defeated by Governor

Henry McMaster Henry Dargan McMaster (born May 27, 1947) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 117th governor of South Carolina since January 24, 2017. He is a member of the Republican Party. McMaster worked for U.S. senator Strom Thurmond, i ...

and his running mate,

Pamela Evette Pamela Sue Evette (née Gajoch; born August 28, 1967) is an American politician and businesswoman and the 93rd lieutenant governor of South Carolina since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, she was the CEO of Quality Business Solutions in U ...

, on November 6, 2018. Norell was defeated for reelection in November 2020.

Personal life

Mandy Powers Norrell married fellow attorney Mitchell A. Norrell on March 18, 1995. Together they have two children; Powers Thaddeus and Emma Ross. Norrell and her family reside in Lancaster, South Carolina.

Controversial Army–Navy Game remark

Following the

Army–Navy Game The Army–Navy Game is an American college football rivalry game between the Army Black Knights of the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, New York, and the Navy Midshipmen of the United States Naval Academy (USNA) at Annapo ...

on December 14, 2019, Norrell sent a tweet accusing players of making "white power" hand gestures. Officials from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

and the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

investigated the incident and cleared the accused

cadet A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...

s and

midshipmen A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

of wrongdoing. Norrell deleted the tweet and apologized.

Notes/further reading

Rep. Norrell's Democratic Response to Governor Nikki Haley's State of the State Address, January 2016.

References

External links

House of Representatives websiteCampaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Powers Norell, Mandy 1973 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians American lawyers Living people Democratic Party members of the South Carolina House of Representatives Women state legislators in South Carolina People from Lancaster, South Carolina