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| State Sen. Stephen Goldfinch, R-Georgetown, District 34, speaks at the Richland County Republican Party monthly meeting Monday evening and said he is exploring a run for attorney general next year. (Photo by Tony J. Spain, Palmetto Examiner) |
Written by Tony J. Spain, Palmetto Examiner
May 20, 2025
COLUMBIA, S.C. (PE) – South Carolina State Sen. Stephen Goldfinch, R-Georgetown, District 34, spoke to members of the Richland County Republican Party at their monthly meeting Monday night in Columbia telling them he’s considering a run for attorney general.
“I’m not hiding the ball. I’m obviously exploring the idea of attorney general,” Goldfinch told the group when asked if he was considering seeking a higher office. “My whole life has really been dedicated to fighting government and bureaucracy, and I think I can be an effective agent of change at the attorney general’s office if I’m blessed to be there.”
The former biomedical entrepreneur turned lawyer has been a long-time activist against government overreach and for state’s rights saying it is the fight against the “nameless, faceless, bureaucrat” ran agency state that got him involved in politics.
“I began a commercial spear fishing business when I was 16 years old. You know what I found out when I was 16 years old? Government is terrible,” said Goldfinch. “In everything I’ve done form beginning to end you run into one head wind after another with government. One bureaucracy after another. One faceless, nameless bureaucrat after another that wants nothing more than to ruin you and your business. And will use the power of the government and all its infinite resources to ruin you and your business. That’s why I got into this political realm.”
Before law school and politics, Goldfinch got a degree in biochemistry at The Citadel and started a biomedical tech company that used umbilical cord stem cells for therapy and research. He sold that company at the age of 24, but not without government bureaucracy induced headaches.
“When I went to sell that company, same thing, government headwinds, bureaucracy, nameless faceless bureaucrats standing in the way of somebody trying to be an entrepreneur,” said Goldfinch.
After the company’s sale, Goldfinch decided he was going to be a lawyer. He went to law school, graduated and passed the bar exam. His first month at his desk, Goldfinch said he had a client come in wanting to sue the state of South Carolina who had placed a cease in desist order from state environmental regulators on a dock he was building on his property that he had already sunk $150,000 into.
“I started doing what they teach you in law school, Goldfinch said. “Something in my head clicked and said, this is that daggum government again.”
Two weeks later the house representative in Goldfinch’s district decided to retire, and he decided to run.
“I knew it right off the bat that I needed to get involved, because quite frankly I hated the government,” he said. “They had stymied me. They had stymied my friends. They had stymied my family. Every step of the way every time you start to get ahead, they pull you back just a little bit. It’s the nameless faceless bureaucrat that constantly stymies innovation in America and even right here in freedom loving South Carolina.”
Goldfinch says no matter what he decides, he’ll continue to fight the good fight against government overreach, and he enjoys what he does.
"I'm going to continue to fight for that in every career move, every political move, every legal move that I make,” Goldfinch said. “I fight the government for a living. That's literally what I do. It's called administrative law. And I'm going to continue to do that until the day that I die. It needs to be done, and honestly, I like doing it. It excites me a little bit to do it.”
Goldfinch also voiced his concern about the next state’s attorney’s general ability to fight the “unelected’ and “unaccounted for” “agency state” or “deep state.”
“Do we have a state’s attorney general in place ready to go to enforce federalism in South Carolina? Do we have a state’s attorney general in South Carolina ready to go to sue the federal government to enforce our state’s rights? That’s a really super important role y’all, Goldfinch proclaimed. “It may not be on the top of everyone’s mind today. It’s going to be on top of everyone’s mind in 2028 or 2029.”
Other names have been tossed around to fill the state’s top prosecutor spot as current Attorney General Alan Wilson talks of succeeding Gov. Henry McMaster next year, among them is 1st Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe who recently flipped his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican.
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About the Author:
Tony Spain is a U.S. Army veteran with combat tours to Iraq and Afghanistan, an entrepreneur businessman, former candidate for Richland County Council
2020 and an award winning former military photographer and journalist while in
the Public Affairs Office for the U.S. Army. His photos and writing have been
published in numerous publications such as The Commercial News, Danville, Ill.;
The Paraglide, Fort Bragg, N.C.; Soldier of Fortune Magazine; The State
Newspaper, Columbia, S.C., and more.
Tony and his wife, Chauna, live in Columbia, S.C.
What Say You? Got something you'd like to say? Letter to the
Editor (Guest Column), praises, criticism, hate mail, news story tip or just
want to say, howdy. Send them to Tony@palmettoexaminer.com
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