COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCBD) — Longtime prosecutor David Pascoe is entering the race to become South Carolina’s next attorney general.
Pascoe, who has served as 1st Circuit Solicitor since 2005, is set to make his bid official during the Daniel Island Republican Club Breakfast on Monday. He is expected to be joined by his longtime friend, 9th Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson, as well as 16th Circuit Solicitor Kevin Brackett, 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone, and former U.S. Attorney Bart Daniel.
He will attend the Berkeley County Republican Party’s executive meeting in Goose Creek later that evening before making stops at the Statehouse in Columbia and Greenville on Tuesday, according to a schedule provided by the campaign.
At each of these events, the campaign said Pascoe will highlight his “anti-corruption record and a plan to make South Carolina the safest and least corrupt state in America.”
Pascoe, 58, was chosen as the special prosecutor in a 2014 State House corruption probe that ultimately led to the indictments of several Republican lawmakers, including former House Speaker Bobby Harrell, and prominent political consultant Richard Quinn Sr.
In recent years, he has become a staunch advocate for judicial reform, outspokenly criticizing the state’s judicial selection process and the influence lawyer-legislators hold over it.
Pascoe hinted at a possible run for higher office in April when he announced a switch in party affiliation from Democratic to Republican, saying his former party had become “too soft on crime.”
“I can no longer in good conscience wear the label ‘Democrat,'” he said at the time. “[The Democratic Party] has become a party that embraces progressive extremes on prosecutorial policies, disregards the dangers of crimes committed by illegal immigrants, and prioritizes radical agendas over public safety.”
When he makes it official, Pascoe will become the second Republican to join the race to succeed Attorney General Alan Wilson, who is seeking the GOP nomination for governor.
State Sen. Stephen Goldfinch (R-Georgetown) launched his campaign in early July.
Filing for the 2026 general election officially opens next March.
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