The Race For South Carolina Attorney General Is Taking Shape

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With this week’s thermonuclear detonation in the South Carolina governor’s race, there hasn’t been much bandwidth available to Palmetto politicos to focus on down-ballot races.

But that doesn’t mean furious politicking isn’t underway in those various statewide races… which, like the battle for the governor’s mansion, will all but assuredly come down to the June 9, 2026 GOP primary election.

Which is just fifteen months away, people…

One race expected to see a flood of entries is the battle for S.C. attorney general, which is currently held by fourth-term prosecutor Alan Wilson. With Wilson all but assured of seeking the governor’s office in 2026, that means this will be an open seat – and numerous candidates are already eagerly eyeing the post.

According to our sources, governor Henry McMaster – who held this office from 2003-2011 – is aggressively pushing his son, Henry D. McMaster Jr., for the opening. And while the elder McMaster may be a lame duck as chief executive, he’s got plenty of political favors to trade based on his close proximity to U.S. president Donald Trump.

That means his son’s candidacy has to be taken seriously…

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Numerous other contenders are also expressing interest in the office, including state senator Stephen Goldfinch – who has reportedly indicated to his colleagues that he is planning to run. We’re also told numerous state solicitors are considering bids – including S.C. first circuit solicitor David Pascoe, a centrist Democrat whom we’re told could seek the office as a Republican.

“At least two solicitors will run,” one Upstate prosecutor told me. “At least.”

There’s also ongoing speculation as to the potential political ambitions of Creighton Waters, the lead prosecutor in the internationally watched murder trial of convicted killer/confessed fraudster Alex Murdaugh. Widely viewed by his colleagues as a devout Democrat, could Waters mount a strict law-and-order platform which eschews partisan politics? And, more to the point, would a GOP electorate that is shifting more to the ideological right with each passing day be amenable to such a candidacy?

Wilson’s critics have accused him of excessively politicizing the office over the last fourteen years. They’ve also blasted him for engaging on numerous national issues which they insist are outside of his purview. His supporters insist he’s simply representing the people who elected him – and argue his elevation of the office’s political profile has strengthened his hand (and, by extension, the hand of his successor).

“There’s a reason so many people want this job,” one of Wilson’s financial backers told me this week. “And there’s a reason so many people want to give him a promotion.”

The attorney general’s office is an independently elected position in South Carolina. Its occupant serves a four-year term and is not term-limited.

Count on FITSNews to keep our audience apprised of potential candidates for this seat as their names are floated.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.

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