Stephen Lewis Goldfinch Jr. is a conservative leader, combat-tested soldier, and attorney who is seeking to serve South Carolina as its next attorney general in 2026. A lifelong South Carolinian, Goldfinch was born in Conway in 1982 and now lives in Murrells Inlet, where he balances his legal career, military service, and family life. He earned both a bachelor’s degree and MBA from The Citadel before completing his law degree at the Charleston School of Law, building the academic foundation for his work defending property rights, small businesses, and victims in civil cases.
In addition to operating his own law practice, Goldfinch serves as a Judge Advocate General (JAG) officer and captain in the South Carolina Army National Guard, experience that shapes his commitment to law and order, accountability, and support for law enforcement. He was injured during a 2023 deployment to Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, giving him firsthand understanding of the sacrifices made by service members and their families.
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Goldfinch was first elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 2012 and has served in the State Senate since 2016, representing District 34 along the Grand Strand and Waccamaw Neck. In Columbia, he has championed conservative principles: protecting private property rights, pushing back on excessive regulation, strengthening coastal and flood resilience without growing bureaucracy, and helping create the South Carolina Office of Resilience to better prepare communities for storms and flooding. His attorney general campaign emphasizes limited government, strong enforcement of criminal laws, election integrity, parental rights, and a willingness to stand up to federal overreach when Washington, D.C. threatens South Carolina’s sovereignty and values.
Off the Senate floor, Goldfinch is known as a husband, father, and small business owner who understands the impact state policy has on families and job creators along the coast. He is married to Dr. Lucas “Lucy” Goldfinch, a veterinarian, and together they are raising their children in Murrells Inlet.
Over more than two decades he has focused on prosecuting violent crime, child sexual abuse, drug trafficking, and crimes committed by repeat offenders
