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South Carolina state treasurer Curtis Loftis is channeling his inner Tom Petty these days. With several powerful state senators itching throw him out of office on his ear, the 66-year-old West Columbia, S.C. native has made it clear he “won’t back down.”
In fact, Loftis is not only going to “stand his ground,” during an exclusive interview with FITSNews this week he announced he will be seeking another four-year term as treasurer in 2026.
“I’ve been talking about retiring for two years,” Loftis told us. “I’ve been asking people to run, run, run… they’ve all said ‘hell no, why would I do that?’ Who is going to put up with this?”
Loftis is referring to the ongoing saga surrounding a $1.8 billion anomaly in the state’s accounting system created under the administration of former S.C. comptroller general Richard Eckstrom (and apparently perpetuated by current interim comptroller, Brian Gaines).
“I’m going to run again… and I’m going to spend the money to buy the ads to tell what’s happening,” Loftis said. “I can afford to do it, and I’m gonna do it. I’ve been looking at a house in Colorado for six months and putting two or three bids in… but I’ve got to quit that thinking, because I’ve got to stay. I can’t turn my back. I lost both my parents the last few years, and if my dad knew that I turned my back when I was needed the most? You can’t do that.”
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Loftis compared the current “witch hunt” against him – led by state senators Larry Grooms and Stephen Goldfinch – to attacks against president Donald Trump during his reelection bid.
“To paraphrase all this into a quote from Donald Trump – they want your money, and I’m in between you and the money,” he said. “I’m standing in the way, and I don’t care what they say and what they do, I’m not leaving. I’m not letting them get that money.”
Loftis told us his insistence on standing up for taxpayers was the reason he was “the most investigated person ever in South Carolina state government.”
“I had a button for a long time, and it said, ‘I’ve been censored, but not yet flogged,’ and I’m used to it, so I’m okay with that,” he said. “If you stand up to the power structure, you’re going to get it.”
But why is Loftis, the state’s banker, the focus of an ongoing investigation into an accounting error? Shouldn’t the onus for that fall on the comptroller? According to him, it’s because he refuses to play ball with fiscal liberals like Grooms – who wanted to spend the $1.8 billion in unaccounted for funds on bigger government.
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RELATED | A SMOKING GUN?
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Earlier this year, FITSNews reported on a smoking gun which directly implicated the comptroller general’s office in the confusion over the unaccounted for funds- which we consistently argued should be returned to taxpayers.
Now, state leaders say the money doesn’t even exist… referring to it as a phantom “amalgamation.”
The state’s accountant from 2003-2023, Eckstrom resigned under pressure two years ago after disclosing that his office had uncovered a $3.5 billion “anomaly” in the state’s general fund budget. Later revelations pushed this imbalance to a whopping $5.9 billion. According to Eckstrom, the anomaly was attributable to “differences in the way the state was accounting for cash that was transferred over to colleges and universities” during the Covid-19 pandemic.
After lawmakers failed to do their job and select a new comptroller, Gaines has continued to make a mess of the state’s books – which, incidentally, are currently the focus of an ongoing federal investigation.
FITSNews has been at the forefront of this coverage from the very beginning… and with Loftis vowing to seek another term, expect it to remain a dominant issue in the 2026 election cycle.
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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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7 comments
GOOD! We need more people like Mr Loftis in public office.
I am sorry for the loss of his parents in recent years, but they must have been incredible people to have raised Curtis with the amazing ethics he has. My thanks as a citizen to them.
I am trying to imagine why of all places, a conservative man like Mr Loftis would want to move to an up-and-coming liberal sh-thole like Colorado. Surely there are states as beautiful or moreso, which are more freedom oriented.
Anyway, I am thankful that he has decided to stay with us and fight the good fight, as the old song by “Triumph” said. I hope he starts packing wherever he can. Good people who get between evil people and other peoples’ money are often in danger.
God bless Mr Loftis!
I’ve watched some of those hearings and it is a cluster. Those Senators are living on a different planet. Rude, condescending and jerks. My Senator is on that panel and when I see him he will know how I feel. I’m embarrassed for SC.
Senators like Climer, Rice, Kimbrell, Corbin and others from conservative counties could end up paying for their poor treatment of Loftis. The Trump, America First crowd might just replace many of these Senators. The People are restless, and 6 or 7 Senators lost their seats last year. 2028 could see many safe seats be overturned.
This Democrat would be happy to observe such changes.
Who the hell is Larry Grooms?
Larry Grooms is a self-proclaimed saint with a megaphone and a prayer book, but no clue about the gospel. He is the definition of a Goober with delusions of grandeur and the IQ of an ox.
I am thrilled to hear that Loftis is not retiring. There are few things more interesting in politics than watching a wealthy man say he has had enough of the bullshit. Having money to spend without begging special interest changes everything.
A joke. Loftis is the last of the three-legged kabal to go down. Eckstrom and Kennedy resigned and so should Loftis. He was there the whole time SCEIS was stood up. To now act like he’s the victim is a joke. Sure he stood up to the retirement system mess in 2013, but he plays the same good-ol-boy politics like the rest of them. He brought in his friend for the NY Bank case and was exposed…..but that’s what a lot of them do. It’s time for him to go.