Goldfinch considers run for attorney general; lifetime record of fighting the bureaucratic ran agency

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 1^st 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 

WATCH LIVE: Unprecedented South Carolina Senate trial to remove State Treasurer Curtis Loftis

 

WATCH The Whole Senate Trial

It's important to note in this Senate trial for removal of State Treasurer Curtis Loftis, which is hardly a trial, Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Berkley, and Sen. Stephen Goldfinch-R, Georgetown, are not required to or sworn to tell the truth, nor have they had to in previous finance committee hearings. However, they have always required a swearing of the truth for Treasurer Loftis and his staff.

Also, Loftis is not allowed to call witnesses, no objections can be made, and there is no requirements for a quorum of members to be present.

Folks, let's call this what it is. It isn't a trial; it's a kangaroo court. It's a sham!

State Treasurer Curtis Loftis isn’t going away quietly; files petition with State Supreme Court and announces reelection bid as more than a decade fight continues

 

Written by: Tony J. Spain, Palmetto Examiner
April 11, 2025

COLUMBIA, SC (PE)—South Carolina State Treasurer Curtis Loftis announced his attorneys have filed a petition with the state Supreme Court Thursday to stop a hearing that could remove him from office.

The Senate Finance committee is attempting to remove Loftis from office for “willfully neglected duties” stemming from a $1.8 million accounting error, which only existed on paper and does not involve actual money according to an independent audit.  

The court filing comes after State Senators initiated a rare constitutional process known as “removal on address” and schedules a hearing for April 21. The Senate’s stated procedures for the hearing allow no witnesses to be called, no objections to me made by the parties, and does not even establish requirements for a quorum of members to be present.

“This injunction is about ensuring fairness, transparency, and adherence to the rule of law, said Loftis. “I am asking the Supreme Court to step in and clarify whether the Senate is authorized to overturn a state election using this provision. The people of South Carolina deserve a process that upholds the law and the democratic principles they have entrusted to us.”

In his petition, Loftis cited Article XV of State code as evidence making the argument the constitutional section only applies to “state officers elected by the General Assembly” and “has certainly never been applied to statewide elected officials”

“No statewide elected official has ever been impeached or removed from office under the current State Constitution,” the petition says. “The State constitution clearly establishes a process for impeachment of officials elected on a statewide basis. The House of Representatives alone shall have the power of impeachment in cases of serious crimes or serious misconduct in office.”

“We trust the Supreme Court will provide the guidance needed to resolve this matter justly,” Loftis added. “My focus remains on serving the people of South Carolina and safeguarding their financial interest, as I have done throughout my tenure.”

Loftis has consistently maintained that the Senate’s actions are politically motivated and lack merit and an independent audit determined the bookkeeping errors were within the Comptroller General’s accounting system—not missing funds.

Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Berkley, who chairs the powerful Senate Sub Committee trying to remove Loftis, shares a different sentiment.

“I’m not saying there was a crime. I’m not saying there was a cover-up. But we knew that errors occurred and that the folks responsible for those errors chose not to try to correct them,” Grooms told reporters after a January report from an independent audit found the mistake was the result of an accounting error when the state converted from an old accounting system to a new one, and the Comptroller General’s Office classified entries as cash instead of budget dollars that was not real money. “The state’s books were a mess, but the problem began—and let me make this clear—the problem began in the State Treasurer’s Office.”

Groom’s subcommittee investigated the Comptroller General’s Office in 2023 for a related $3.5 billion accounting error. Legislative scrutiny was able to force Comptroller Richard Eskstrom to resign and the elected position be replaced by an appointment with Brian J. Gaines.

Now Grooms and his committee are on the attack against Loftis calling for his resignation while calling him a “liar” and his actions “treasonous” while under Senate immunity protections from any kind of libel or slander.

Loftis had announced last year his plans to retire and not seek re-election but has changed his mind and decided to fight back against the allegations against him and announced his bid for re-election accusing the Senate subcommittee of running a campaign of lies against him protected by immunity from the Senate floor.

“They have no obligation to tell the truth. They have protection if they slander you. They can libel you and conspire, and there’s nothing you can do about it,” Loftis said in an interview with Will Folks, FitsNews. “I walk into the room; I have to swear to tell the truth the whole truth. They can throw me in jail for perjury.”

This is not the first time Loftis has found himself in the cross hairs. He has been under scrutiny, investigated and threatened to be removed for more than a decade.

Since blowing the whistle in 2013 on the mismanagement of the State pension, they’ve been coming for Loftis. But that hasn't stopped him.  

In 2014, Loftis disclosed that the SC Retirement System Investment Commission was paying hundreds of millions per year in hidden fees to their special interests Wall Street friends, and in 2016 he called out the SC Investment Commission for costing the state $7 billion on bad investments.  

Loftis was first elected in 2010 to the Treasurer’s Office and was looking forward to retirement, but said he now must stay.

“I’m going to run again and I’m going to spend the money to buy ads to tell what’s happening. I can afford it and I’m going to do it,” he told Folks announcing his reelection bid. “I’ve got to stay. I can’t turn my back. I lost both my parents in the last few years and if my dad knew I turned my back when I was needed the most, you know I can’t do that.”

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About the Author:

Tony Spain is a 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.

He lives 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