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by MARK POWELL
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The farther you go down a ballot, the easier it becomes for undercard races to get lost in the shadow of the biggies. Take this week’s South Carolina partisan primary elections, for instance.
While the spotlight shone on the raucous GOP governor’s race (which advanced to a runoff), considerably less attention has been paid to the equally rancorous Republican attorney general’s contest… which also advanced to a head-to-head runoff battle.
In South Carolina partisan primaries, runoffs are held two weeks after the first round of voting in the event no candidate receives a majority of votes on the initial ballot.
One of the state’s most significant constitutional offices, the attorney general’s seat been held for the past fifteen years by Alan Wilson – one of two GOP candidates still standing in the race to replace status quo governor Henry McMaster (who preceded Wilson as the state’s top prosecutor).
Wilson’s decision to run for governor as opposed to a seeking a fifth term as the state’s top prosecutor created a three-way tussle for the Republican nomination.
That battle is now down to a two-way race…
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The candidate who received the most attention during the GOP primary for attorney general was also the least successful. S.C. first circuit solicitor David Pascoe was, until very recently, a Democrat (as in, he supported Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020). Suffice it to say, that didn’t sit well with many Republican voters once it was brought to their attention.
Pascoe’s campaign wasn’t helped when president Donald Trump blasted him in a withering Truth Social post late last month. While Trump didn’t endorse either of Pascoe’s opponents, he delivered a double barrel blast that some observers say crippled his chances of victory.
“Pascoe is a total fraud and phony, and is no friend of our incredible Movement to MAKE SOUTH CAROLINA, AND AMERICA, GREAT AGAIN!” Trump wrote.
And that was one of the softer things he had to say…
When the final ballots were counted on Tuesday night, Pascoe finished at the bottom of the heap with 107,185 votes (or 24.35% of ballots cast).
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THE TWO SURVIVORS…
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Finishing second in the GOP primary for this office was David Stumbo, a veteran prosecutor whom many believe would carry on Wilson’s legacy, if elected.
Stumbo is in his fourth term as solicitor for South Carolina’s eighth judicial circuit – which includes Abbeville, Greenwood, Laurens and Newberry counties. First elected in 2012, he was reelected to that post in 2016, 2020 and again in 2024.
A career prosecutor with significant law enforcement backing, Stumbo was dogged during the race by an ethics complaint claiming he received more than $36,000 in so-called reimbursements through a years-long series of monthly installments – directing or approving fixed monthly payments of either $1,100 or $950 to himself for 35 consecutive months.
Stumbo countered that his reimbursements actually saved taxpayers money on his vehicular expenses.
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Despite the scandal, Stumbo received 157,002 votes (or 35.66% of ballots cast) on Tuesday – well above where he was polling just weeks earlier. Two days later, he received Pascoe’s support.
“I am voting for David Stumbo for attorney general,” Pascoe wrote on X. “He is the ONLY real prosecutor and conservative left in the attorney general’s race. I urge my supporters to do the same. Our state cannot afford for you to sit out on the upcoming election!”
“This campaign was never about one election or one candidate,” Pascoe added. “It is about a cause much bigger than us. The fight for honest government did not end Tuesday. We will continue this fight tomorrow, and every day after, until the job is done. One way to make sure corruption does not worsen in our state is to vote for David Stumbo on June 23rd!”
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Finishing first in the partisan primary this week was state senator Stephen Goldfinch. A legislator for nearly a decade-and-a-half (beginning in the House in 2012 and moving on to the S.C. Senate in 2017) he’s an attorney living in Murrells Inlet, S.C.
Like Stumbo, Goldfinch has also had his share of controversy. For starters, he was the head of a Mount Pleasant company that was “primarily focused on the harvesting and the processing of stem cells from umbilical cord blood and the distribution of stem cells.”
Goldfinch was eventually charged by the feds with one count of misbranding drugs. He blamed the matter on a contractor and the charge was controversially dismissed. Nonetheless, Goldfinch was the top vote-getter in Tuesday’s primary with 176,045 votes – or 39.99% of ballots cast.
He also received the support of Lowcountry multi-millionaire Rom Reddy, who finished a disappointing fourth in the GOP governor’s race.
“He shares my view that the agency state needs to be reigned in especially when they blatantly assume police powers or violate the constitution,” Reddy wrote. “This is an area I feel strongly about. Additionally senator Goldfinch was a big supporter of our judicial reform bill and he agreed to lead the floor fight but unfortunately it got stuck in judiciary committee. So, while I do not make endorsements I do plan to vote for Stephen Goldfinch in the attorney general runoff.”
Whichever candidate emerges victorious in the runoff will face Democratic attorney Richard Hricik, who secured his party’s nomination without a primary. Hricik ran for elective office once before, unsuccessfully challenging liberal “Republican” state senator Chip Campsen.
Democrats have had a lengthy drought when it comes to this office. In fact, the last Democrat to serve as attorney general was Travis Medlock, who was first elected in 1982 and served until 1995.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
J. Mark Powell is an award-winning former TV journalist, government communications veteran, and a political consultant. He is also an author and an avid Civil War enthusiast. Got a tip or a story idea for Mark? Email him at mark@fitsnews.com.
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SOUND OFF…
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