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by WILL FOLKS
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South Carolina’s eighth circuit solicitor – who is one of the two finalists to become the Palmetto State’s next top prosecutor – is back on the campaign trail after a brief health scare.
David Stumbo, 50, of Greenwood, S.C., returned to the campaign trial at an event in Greenville – showing no ill effects from the undisclosed ailment that prompted his hospitalization just two days ago.
“Feels good to be back on the campaign trail,” Stumbo said. “This morning I stood with sheriffs and solicitors in the Upstate who have endorsed my campaign, and I’m proud to have their full support in making the case that we need an experienced tough-on-crime prosecutor leading the attorney general’s office.”
According to Stumbo, he was grateful for the outpouring of support that followed his brief hospitalization – which he announced on social media on Saturday (June 20, 2026).
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“I want to thank everyone for the well wishes and kind messages over the weekend – this may have been the first weekend in eleven months that I haven’t been on the campaign trail, but I’m glad to be back – and we’re going to finish this campaign STRONG!” Stumbo wrote.
Stumbo and third-term state senator Stephen Goldfinch are battling for the Republican nomination for attorney general, hoping to succeed Alan Wilson – who has held the office since 2010. Wilson did not seek another term in 2026, choosing instead to run for governor – a race he seems likely to win.
Whichever candidate claims the GOP nomination will face Democratic attorney Richard Hricik, who ran unopposed in his party’s primary. While partisan trends could be shifting in South Carolina, Hricik faces an uphill battle in his bid. The last Democrat to hold this office was Travis Medlock, who was first elected in 1982 and served until 1995.
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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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1 comment
It seems really, really curious to me that no-one in the state-level media has ever scrutinized Goldfinch’s claims that he has prosecuted “hundreds”, even “thousands” of cases as a JAG, frequently commenting on some of them being the “worst of the worst”. Stumbo came really close to nailing him down on it, but didn’t quite seal the deal- probably because he is too gentlemanly to “go there” and publicly humiliate him, and secondly because getting Goldfinch to tell the full, unadulterated truth is about as easy as pinning jello to a tree. But honestly, full- time active duty JAGs might only prosecute 4-5 cases a year, and the large majority of them involve drug activity, an occasional sexual assault, going AWOL, and stealing. Homicide cases subject to UCMJ? Maybe only 6-10 of those occur in all four branches of the military in any given year. MAYBE. And those cases aren’t being assigned to “weekend warriors” in the national guard as “first chair” counsel – perhaps supporting counsel. Goldfinch has never given the name of a single person from a closed case that he has prosecuted in the military, and the vast majority of closed cases are fully subject to FOIA – at a minimum for the purpose of identifying the defendant, the charges, the prosecuting officer, and the outcome of the trial. But we don’t know diddly squat about any of that, because apparently no-one at the State, Post & Courier, and all of their subsidiaries, as well as all of the major news stations have any sense of curiosity to inquire about this boasted track record. Win or lose, I’d still like to know the answer to those questions.