There is one woman among 46 men in the South Carolina Senate, and Kathleen Jennings Gresham wants to join the ranks.

"I'm definitely not one of the good old boys," she said. "I would like to be the second woman senator in South Carolina. This district is composed of 88,000 people, of which 52 percent -- approximately -- are women."

Gresham, 55, announced her intentions to run for Verne Smith's vacated District 5 seat Thursday and joins Lewis Vaughn as a Republican candidate.

A primary election will be held Sept. 19, and winners will participate in the Nov. 7 general election.

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Democrat Frank Eppes also is running for the seat to finish the last two years of Smith's term.

Gresham was the first female prosecutor in the Upstate and said her affinity for children's and elderly rights have driven her in her professional and personal lives.

The Greenville native has been noted for her tough prosecution of crimes against children and was the founder of Child Safe of South Carolina.

"The passion is I know this area," she said. "I know these people (and) I know I can make a difference. I will not go down there and not be heard."

Gresham said if she is elected, she wouldn't accept the senator's salary and instead would use it to help benefit her district.

As a first-time candidate, it is her willingness to try a different approach that will set her apart from past politicians, she said.

"We need a new day in South Carolina," she said. "We need a new vision. We need somebody who's got energy, passion and plans ... I am not a hand-picked candidate of the good old boy network."

Gresham said her platform priorities include conservative government spending, protection of children and their safety, revamping of property taxes and attention to immigration problems.

She also said that the business of the state should be conducted in a timely manner. "When George Washington was the president, he did the business of the government -- along with his colleagues -- in a thoughtful and considerate period of time. But (they) did it and went home."

Gresham earned both bachelor's and law degrees from the University of South Carolina and was honored by the United Nations as an "Outstanding Young Woman of Achievement" in America, joining six other women who were selected across the nation.