GOP solicitor wins job as SC’s attorney general

COLUMBIA — South Carolina’s 8th Circuit solicitor will become the state’s top prosecutor after winning election Tuesday.

David Stumbo, the chief prosecutor for four rural counties, had 52% of the votes over Democrat Richard Hricik, a Mount Pleasant attorney, according to the State Election Commission’s unofficial results.

Stumbo has spent the past 14 years overseeing cases in Abbeville, Greenwood, Laurens and Newberry counties. He will replace Alan Wilson, who left the office he’s held since January 2011 to run for governor.

As attorney general, Stumbo will become responsible for representing the state in all appeals of criminal convictions, including death penalty cases. The office also oversees the State Grand Jury and task forces dedicated to prosecuting human trafficking and child sexual abuse cases.

The retrial of Alex Murdaugh, whose conviction of killing his wife and son was overturned earlier this year, also falls to the attorney general’s office.

Before being elected solicitor, Stumbo worked in private practice. During a three-way GOP primary, he billed himself as the most conservative candidate.

Hricik ran unopposed to become the Democratic nominee. He signed up because no other Democrats had, he previously told the Daily Gazette.

Originally from Ohio, Hricik moved to South Carolina in 1997 to teach at Charleston Southern University before starting his law firm. He still teaches part-time at the Charleston School of Law and online for his alma mater, William & Mary Law School.

Hricik, who accepted no donations and took out a single loan for his campaign, primarily represents people in personal injury and wrongful death cases. He is not a criminal prosecutor, though he said that shouldn’t matter.

The last Democrat elected attorney general was Thomas Medlock, who held the office from 1983 until 1995.