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by MARK POWELL
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Despite playing second fiddle in South Carolina’s Republican primary election two weeks ago, it was an easy trip to the winner’s circle for eighth circuit solicitor David Stumbo on runoff night. The veteran prosecutor had little difficulty brushing aside his rival – state senator Stephen Goldfinch – to clinch the GOP attorney general nomination.
With 90% of the vote in, Stumbo had 171,172 votes (or 55.79% of all ballots cast) compared to 135,669 votes for Goldfich (or 44.21% of all ballots cast).
That was a reversal from two weeks ago, when Goldfinch won the most votes in the three-candidate primary, and Stumbo finished second. However, since neither won the required majority, a head-to-head runoff ensued.
This is the first time this office has been open since Alan Wilson won it in 2010. Wilson declined to seek a fifth term, opting instead to run for governor. He secured his party’s gubernatorial nomination in Tuesday’s runoff as well.
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Stumbo didn’t seem to suffer at the polls following his brief hospitalization last weekend, which was described as a precautionary step. No specific cause for what triggered the concern was released.
The Stumbo-Goldfinch runoff was viewed as an establishment-versus-change showdown, much the same way many South Carolinians saw the Evette-Wilson runoff.
Missing this time around was the drama injected into the primary race by the candidacy of first circuit solicitor David Pascoe. Until recently a Democrat who had supported Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden early in 2020, his party switch didn’t sit well with many rank-and-file Republicans. Nor with the person who heads the MAGA movement.
President Donald Trump blasted Pascoe in a devastating Truth Social post earlier in the race. While he didn’t endorse either Stumbo or Goldfinch, Trump’s blistering comments likely ended
“Pascoe is a total fraud and phony, and is no friend of our incredible Movement to MAKE SOUTH CAROLINA, AND AMERICA, GREAT AGAIN!” Consequently, he finished third in the June 9 primary with 24.35% of the vote.
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Pascoe had been a bomb thrower throughout the primary, attacking Stumbo and Goldfinch with gusto. While his absence from the run-off may have lowered the race’s volume level, it did little to dampen the rancor. Because the two finalists spent much of June rehashing their gripes about the other.
Stumbo, a career prosecutor, was dogged by an ethics complaint claiming he received more than $36,000 in so-called reimbursements through a years-long series of monthly installments by directing or approving fixed monthly payments of either $1,100 or $950 to himself for 35 consecutive months.
Goldfinch did his share of explaining as well. A legislator since 2012 (starting first in the House before advancing to the Senate in 2017), as the former owner and operator 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.” He was eventually charged with one count of misbranding drugs. Goldfinch blamed the matter on a contractor; he entered a pretrial diversion program, and the charge was dismissed.
With the Republican nomination now his, Stumbo’s attention turns to the Democrat he’ll face this fall.
Attorney Richard Hricik received his party’s nomination without having a primary opponent. Hricik ran for elective office once before, losing a 2020 challenge for the District 43 House to incumbent Republican Chip Campsen by 12.5%.
While it’s never safe to predict the outcome of an election, especially one more than four months away, the early odds are in Stumbo’s favor. Hricik’s party hasn’t controlled the state attorney general’s office so far this century.
In fact, the last Democrat to serve as attorney general was Travis Medlock, first elected in 1982 and served until 1995, when he was succeeded by Republican Henry McMaster, the current outgoing governor.
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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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