David Stumbo, the Republican candidate for South Carolina attorney general, stood outside the Greenville County Courthouse Monday morning flanked by a lineup of Upstate sheriffs and solicitors, making his final public pitch before the state heads to the polls. Stumbo currently serves as the Eighth Circuit solicitor, a post he has held for four terms, covering Abbeville, Greenwood, Laurens and Newberry counties.
The Monday morning event, reported by FOX Carolina, drew former Greenville County Sheriff Johnny Mack Brown, Pickens County Sheriff Tommy Blankenship and Thirteenth Circuit Solicitor Cindy Crick, among other Upstate law enforcement figures who joined Stumbo outside the courthouse. The gathering came just one day before voters decide the race between Stumbo and Democrat Richard Hricik on Nov. 3.
A Prosecutor's Record on the Trail
Stumbo has served as the region's chief prosecutor for 14 years, according to WYFF4. That report also notes he is running against Hricik, a Lowcountry attorney with 30 years of legal experience. Stumbo's Republican primary race included Stephen Goldfinch and David Pascoe and a runoff, as reported by Greenville Online.
On the campaign trail, Stumbo has said South Carolina should strengthen its bond laws to give magistrates more authority to keep potentially dangerous defendants in custody, particularly in shooting cases, per the same WYFF4 account. He has also said he wants to expand the state's efforts to combat human trafficking and improve law-enforcement training to identify trafficking victims.
Children's Safety and Office Expansion
Greenville Online reports that Stumbo's campaign focuses primarily on criminal prosecution and protecting the state's conservative values. One of his top priorities, the paper notes, is stopping internet crimes against children and bolstering that division within the attorney general's office. A report from The State adds that Stumbo says he would beef up the office's internet crimes against children task force and has floated establishing regional attorney general's offices in the Upstate, the Florence or Conway area, and the Charleston area.
Stumbo also told The State he plans to actively be on the team trying the Alex Murdaugh double-murder retrial case if elected. Both candidates have said public safety and protecting South Carolina families rank among their top priorities, according to WSPA.
How Hricik's Campaign Differs
Hricik, 59, is a Charleston-area attorney whose campaign is focused on applying the rule of law equally and protecting consumers, Greenville Online reports. The State's coverage further details his priorities as consumer protection, safeguarding the environment, enforcing securities laws, issuing official legal opinions and protecting the public interest.
Campaign finance figures cited by The State show Hricik had spent about $8,000 on his campaign, while Stumbo had more than $300,000 in his account as of mid-October. Earlier in the race, Stumbo had more than $43,000 in cash available as of June 30 after spending more than $800,000 during the Republican primary and runoff, according to the SC Daily Gazette.
No Debate Before the Vote
The two candidates never met in a statewide televised debate, according to Here Columbia. The seat is open because Republican Alan Wilson chose not to seek another term, opting instead to run for governor; Wilson's tenure as attorney general began in 2011. Monday's courthouse gathering marked one of Stumbo's final visible campaign pushes before Tuesday's general election decides who succeeds Wilson.
