COLUMBIA, S.C.
On a day South Carolina senators are expected to formally introduce a resolution to remove state Treasurer Curtis Loftis, he remained defiant and confirmed his plans to run for reelection next year reversing course from a previous announcement.
Loftis last year said he did not intend to run for reelection in 2026, a statement he made during a Senate budget hearing where a panel grilled on the $1.8 billion accounting error.
But Loftis, who was first elected treasurer in 2010, has complained about the investigation into the accounting error, calling it a witch hunt, and questioned its legitimacy.
His anger over the investigation and an effort to preserve his legacy have now pushed him to run for another four-year term, he said.
“Right now, the greatest threat to our state’s financial stability isn’t external: It’s from power-hungry politicians who never rest in their relentless, politically motivated attacks on my office,” Loftis said in his campaign announcement shared first with The State.
Loftis, a Republican, did not face a primary challenge in 2022. In the general election, he received 79.67% against a third-party challenger who received 19% of the vote. No Democrat ran for the office.
Winning the Republican nomination will most likely be key in the statewide election as South Carolina is a reliably Republican state.
The move to run for reelection comes as a source close to Loftis maintains the treasurer has strong support and has substantial funding to run a campaign.
A Senate report called for Loftis’ removal for willful neglect after a two-year investigation into the $1.8 billion listing. In a letter, Loftis argued to Senate President Thomas Alexander and Senate Finance Chairman Harvey Peeler the panel led by state Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Berkeley, exceeded its legal authority saying “Senate subcommittees are not inherently empowered to conduct unscheduled investigations.”
State law says a motion is needed to call for an investigation with a clear subject matter and scope. However, state law also says nothing prohibits the Senate president or chairman of a standing committee from authorizing investigations into agencies’ functions, duties and activities.
Loftis even called on Senate Judiciary Chairman Luke Rankin to review the Finance Committee’s actions and investigation.
“This is not about good governance — it’s about a power grab by a few who seek to control tens of billions of public dollars for their own special interests,” Loftis said in his letter to supporters. “They don’t want an elected State Treasurer who answers to the people. They want an appointed treasurer they can control.”
Loftis may not have many allies in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey said the report issued by Grooms is concerning, pointing to the need to hire an outside compliance officer to oversee the treasurer, comptroller and auditor’s offices, and an ongoing SEC investigation into the state’s finances.
“The more senators hear him talk, the more they want to get rid of him,” Massey said of Loftis. “I think there’s some real concerning things that are out there. And if the body decides not to go that route, we’re going to have to figure out how to manage that office over the next two years, because he’s not capable of doing it himself.”
A hearing in the Senate over whether Loftis should be removed from office for willful neglect is expected to take place April 21.
During the Senate hearing, Grooms and state Sen. Stephen Goldfinch, R-Goldfinch, are expected to present the case for removing Loftis. The treasurer will be allowed to defend himself on the Senate floor.
If two-thirds of the Senate vote in favor of the resolution, it would then move to the House for its consideration.
Whether the votes are in the House to remove Loftis is unknown.
“We want to make sure that as thorough a investigation is as reasonably possible is undertaken before jumping to such a drastic conclusion like removing a statewide elected official,” said state Rep. Micah Caskey, R-Lexington.
An outside forensic auditor concluded that most of the $1.8 billion did not exist and that the then comptroller-general’s office and state auditor were aware of the accounting issue for years without alerting the General Assembly.
Previous Comptroller-General Richard Eckstrom resigned in 2023 after he disclosed he inflated the state’s books by $3.5 billion over the course of a decade. State Auditor George Kennedy resigned earlier this year after outside forensic issued their reports this year.
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Joseph Bustos is a state government and politics reporter at The State. He’s a Northwestern University graduate and previously worked in Illinois covering government and politics. He has won reporting awards in both Illinois and Missouri. He moved to South Carolina in November 2019 and won the Jim Davenport Award for Excellence in Government Reporting for his work in 2022.