Who’s running for South Carolina attorney general? GOP candidates lay out priorities

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - South Carolina voters are on the verge of a major shift in state government, with a new attorney general set to take office for the first time in more than 15 years.

Three Republicans are competing in Tuesday’s primary, each bringing a different background and set of priorities to the race for the state’s top law enforcement job. The winner will face Democrat Richard Hricik, a Lowcountry attorney with more than 30 years of experience who is unopposed in his primary, in November.

The GOP field includes Horry and Georgetown County state Sen. Stephen Goldfinch, 1st Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe and 8th Circuit Solicitor David Stumbo — all of whom have courtroom experience but differing approaches to leading the attorney general’s office.

The office serves as the state’s chief prosecutor and legal representative, handling major criminal cases, arguing appeals, and representing South Carolina in court.

Two of the candidates, Pascoe and Stumbo, are veteran circuit solicitors who oversee prosecutions in their respective regions. Goldfinch, meanwhile, is both a practicing attorney and a judge advocate general officer in the Army National Guard.

Pascoe has led the 1st Circuit Solicitor’s Office for more than 20 years, covering Orangeburg, Calhoun, and Dorchester counties. He said his record includes prosecuting elected officials and securing death penalty convictions.

“I’m the only candidate who’s put evil men on death row,” Pascoe said. “I sent a cop killer to the firing squad last spring. I was one of the first public officials to call for the firing squad, and they laughed at me, but I worked with Republicans and Democrats to get that passed.”

Pascoe said that, if elected, he would focus on rooting out corruption in Columbia while also prioritizing protecting children. He called for aggressively prosecuting crimes against minors, including seeking the death penalty in certain cases.

“When I’m attorney general... we’re going to seek the death penalty on child rapists,” Pascoe said.

Goldfinch, who represents Georgetown and Horry counties, emphasized his experience handling both criminal and civil cases, along with his work as a military lawyer. He said that his background sets him apart and would shape his leadership of the office.

“I’ve prosecuted some of the worst of the worst, including those that would threaten our national security and our men and women in uniform,” Goldfinch said.

Goldfinch also highlighted a need to address a backlog of violent crime cases across the state, warning that delays can undermine justice.

“The evidence goes stale, and when the evidence goes stale, the case goes away, either in the form of a dismissal or a plea bargain that nobody is happy with,” he said. “The effect of that is to victimize the victims over and over again, and that’s just unacceptable.”

In addition, Goldfinch pointed to the state’s Violent Crime Reduction Task Force as a key tool and said he would push back against federal overreach, particularly if a Democrat wins the White House.

Stumbo, who has served as solicitor for the 8th Circuit in the Upstate for more than a decade, highlighted his experience both in local prosecutions and in the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office, where he worked on internet crimes against children cases.

He said protecting children is his top priority and called for tougher penalties for offenders.

“I’ve seen in recent years way too many pedophiles walking out of court with probation sentences,” Stumbo said. “We need to end that. These guys that are exploiting our kids online need to go to prison, period.”

Stumbo also framed the role of attorney general as one requiring extensive prosecutorial experience.

“You need a career prosecutor that’s walked into our courtrooms, stared down murderers, stared down rapists, stared down cartel traffickers — stared down bad people and not blinked,” he said.

While the candidates differ in emphasis, all three pointed to public safety and strengthening the justice system as central to their campaigns.

The Republican nominee will advance to the general election in November to face Hricik.

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