Elizabeth Colbert Busch (born December 10, 1954)[1][2] is an American economist and politician who is the Director of Business Development at Clemson University's Restoration Institute,[3] and was the Democratic Party nominee for the 2013 special election for South Carolina's 1st congressional district, losing to Mark Sanford.
[11][12][13][10] Colbert Busch briefly attended the University of South Carolina, but returned to Charleston after her father and two brothers Peter and Paul were among the 71 passengers who died on Eastern Air Lines Flight 212, in 1974.
[22][23] On January 18, 2013, Colbert Busch announced that she would run as a Democrat in the 2013 special election for South Carolina's 1st congressional district to fill the vacancy created when Tim Scott was appointed to the United States Senate after incumbent Senator Jim DeMint resigned to head conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation.
[24] In the March 19 Democratic primary, she was to face Charleston businessman Martin Skelly, the founder of the Russian-based private equity firm UFG Asset Management.
[26] On March 19, 2013, Colbert Busch handily won the Democratic primary with over 95% of the vote compared to perennial candidate Ben Frasier's 4%.