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A veteran violent crime prosecutor in the office of S.C. twelfth circuit solicitor Ed Clements is scheduled to announce his candidacy to succeed the long-serving Democrat.
Ryan White, originally of Darlington, S.C., is set to become the first announced candidate in the upcoming March 2026 election to follow Clements – who has served as solicitor of Florence and Marion counties since January 1999.
Clements won a sixth consecutive four-year term in 2022 as a Democrat, but upon taking the oath of office in January 2023 declared himself to be an independent.
He also vowed his current term would be his last…
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“I want to over the next four years do a job that will glorify God and benefit the community – to make this a better place to live,” he said at the time. “I’ve never seen so many killings and shootings.”
That last line hardly sounds like a ringing endorsement of his quarter century of prosecuting violent criminals, does it?
Also, as FITSNews has previously reported, there have been credible reasons to criticize Clements in recent years.
White, who is running as a Republican, will make his candidacy official next Tuesday (March 25, 2025) at a press conference on the front steps of the Florence County courthouse (180 N. Irby Street) at 11:00 a.m. EDT. A media advisory promoting the event described him as “an experienced violent crime and homicide prosecutor” as well as a “lifelong Pee Dee resident.”
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In addition to his prosecutorial work in the twelfth circuit, White previously served as a law clerk for S.C. circuit court judge R. Ferrell Cothran, Jr. of Manning, S.C. and was a law clerk for the S.C. House of Representatives labor, commerce and industry committee.
The University of South Carolina graduate resides in Florence with his wife and two children.
Given the critical role solicitors play in South Carolina’s much-maligned system of “justice,” count on FITSNews to keep close tabs not only on this race but the other five solicitor’s races scheduled to held next year.
The Palmetto State is home to sixteen judicial circuits – each of which includes anywhere between two and five counties. Solicitors are elected to four-year terms in partisan elections by the registered voters in their circuit.
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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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