Race for South Carolina Attorney General narrows down

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - The race to become South Carolina’s next attorney general has narrowed to two Republican candidates, with state Sen. Stephen Goldfinch and 8th Circuit Solicitor David Stumbo set to face off in a runoff election Tuesday.

Both men are emphasizing their legal experience and outlining competing visions for the state’s top law enforcement office.

Stumbo serves as circuit solicitor for Newberry, Laurens, Abbeville, and Greenwood counties, where he has spent more than a decade prosecuting criminal cases. Goldfinch, a Georgetown County State Senator, operates a private law practice in Murrells Inlet and also serves as a military attorney.

“I have over 20 years of experience in the legal field, in the courtroom,” Stumbo said.

“Murders, sexual assaults — you name it. I’ve prosecuted those cases, including those that threaten our national security," said Goldfinch when explaining his career.

Few positions in state government carry as much responsibility as attorney general. The office serves as South Carolina’s chief legal authority, overseeing statewide task forces, managing administrative duties, and protecting consumers.

“They are the chief legal officer of the state of South Carolina,” said Colin Miller, a law professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law. “Meaning the buck stops with them in terms of interpreting and applying the law.”

Stumbo says his prosecutorial background makes him uniquely qualified for the role.

“I’ve prosecuted hundreds of cases throughout my career in the state of South Carolina,” Stumbo said. “That means working with sheriffs and police chiefs, working with SLED, working with Highway Patrol, working with DNR — all of our law enforcement agencies.”

Goldfinch, meanwhile, points to his experience in private practice, military law, and the legislature, saying his work focuses on limiting government overreach.

“That’s a huge part of what the attorney general’s office does,” Goldfinch said. “My law practice today focuses on overreaching government and bloated bureaucracies that are impinging on our businesses’ rights and our freedoms.”

Goldfinch says addressing violent crime is a top priority. He wants to clear a growing backlog of violent crime cases by expanding the state’s Violent Crime Reduction Task Force. He has also proposed creating a new task force aimed at juveniles who commit violent crimes with firearms to prosecute them as adults.

“When you have a violent crime backlog, what does that do?” Goldfinch said. “That continues to victimize victims over and over again. Cases get old, witnesses disappear, cases go cold.”

Stumbo has focused his platform on expanding the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and increasing resources to combat human trafficking. He is also calling for judicial reform, including shifting the power to select judges from lawmakers to the governor.

“I want us to beef up the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force,” Stumbo said. “We need to make sure our prosecutors and investigators have all the resources they need.”

Both candidates agree that drug cartel activity is a growing concern in South Carolina and say the issue requires increased attention. They also support opening regional attorney general offices across the state, modeled after the U.S. attorney’s office system.

The winner of Tuesday’s Republican runoff will advance to the general election in November, where they will face Lowcountry attorney Richard Hricik, who ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.

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