SCANDAL-SCARRED EX-JUDGE REPORTEDLY MULLING ANOTHER BID …
Disgraced former judge and failed statewide candidate Larry Richter could mount another bid for attorney general, multiple sources in the South Carolina Lowcountry tell us.
Richter ran for attorney general in 2002, losing a “Republican” runoff to former two-term top prosecutor (and current S.C. lieutenant governor) Henry McMaster. Six years ago, Richter finished in third place in a “Republican” primary for lieutenant governor – narrowly missing a runoff election against eventual winner Ken Ard.
A prominent Lowcountry lawyer, Richter lost his seat on the state bench years ago after he was accused of offering cocaine to a female law student. More recently, he was accused of selling out child victims of sexual abuse by colluding with a circuit court judge to pocket $2.5 million in legal fees (and insulate the Charleston Diocese of the Catholic church from prosecution).
Do we think Richter will run? No …
S.C. Rep. Peter McCoy – a former prosecutor – is reportedly eyeing a bid for attorney general and strikes us as being far better positioned than Richter to capture votes in the Lowcountry.
Meanwhile another former prosecutor – Greenville GOP chairman Chad Groover – has also reportedly expressed interest in the office.
South Carolina’s current attorney general – Alan Wilson – is currently staring down a major obstruction of justice scandal. As a result, there are limited options available to him as he contemplates his political future. Last we heard, Wilson was planning to mount a bid for governor – although at this point such a candidacy would be nothing short of Quixotic.