Karen Kanes Floyd, the first woman elected chair of the South Carolina Republican Party, is CEO of The Palladian Group – a global marketing, communications, and technology company she founded – well into its second decade of operations. She also is the Publisher of Palladian View, a digital magazine for conservative Republican women.
Following her two-year tenure leading the South Carolina GOP, during which the party enjoyed unprecedented success in the 2010 midterm elections, she has been recognized as a rising national conservative voice. In the past decade, she has raised more than $30 million for political candidates and causes. A sought-after speaker, Floyd is also highly experienced as a national radio and TV interview source.
Floyd is a recipient of The Order of the Palmetto, the highest civilian honor awarded by the governor of South Carolina, recognizing people who make contributions of statewide significance. She currently serves as Treasurer of the South Carolina Ports Authority board and is former chair of the Spartanburg County Council. Floyd previously was vice president of Flagstar Corporation, the parent company of Denny’s. She served as chief magistrate of Spartanburg County, the first woman to hold such a position in South Carolina, and enjoyed a successful career as a prosecutor of rape and child abuse cases.
Floyd earned a juris doctorate from the University of South Carolina School of Law, where she was elected president of the Student Bar Association.
Floyd and her husband Gordon have twin sixteen-year-old sons and reside in South Carolina.
