Alan Wilson (South Carolina)
2011 - Present
2027
13
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Alan Wilson (Republican Party) is the Attorney General of South Carolina. He assumed office on January 12, 2011. His current term ends on January 13, 2027.
Wilson (Republican Party) ran for re-election for Attorney General of South Carolina. He won in the general election on November 8, 2022.
While serving as attorney general, Wilson appealed a 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that said the state's ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court's June 2015 ruling to legalize marriage for same-sex couples in all 50 states neutralized that appeal. Wilson said that his efforts squared with the attorney general's chief duty to defend state law.
Before becoming the attorney general, Wilson served as an assistant solicitor, as assistant attorney general, and as a major in the South Carolina Army National Guard. He is the son of Joseph Wilson, a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives.[1][2]
Biography
Wilson joined the South Carolina National Guard as a platoon leader after receiving his bachelor's degree from Francis Marion University. He was deployed to Iraq, where he earned a Combat Action Badge for leading troops through enemy fire.[3] Wilson was later promoted to the rank of Major.[3] In October 2003, he was appointed as an assistant to the 11th Circuit Solicitor's Office, remaining there for four years. From January 2007 until March 2009, he served as an assistant in the South Carolina Attorney General's Office. Wilson then worked as an attorney for the Columbia-based private practice law firm of Willoughby & Hoefer, PA.[2]
Education
- Graduated from Grace Christian School
- B.A., in political science, Francis Marion University
- J.D., University of South Carolina[2]
Elections
2022
See also: South Carolina Attorney General election, 2022
General election
General election for Attorney General of South Carolina
Incumbent Alan Wilson won election in the general election for Attorney General of South Carolina on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Alan Wilson (R) | 97.3 | 1,223,080 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 2.7 | 33,709 | ||
| Total votes: 1,256,789 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Attorney General of South Carolina
Incumbent Alan Wilson defeated Lauren Martel in the Republican primary for Attorney General of South Carolina on June 14, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Alan Wilson | 65.7 | 228,538 |
 | Lauren Martel | 34.3 | 119,247 | |
| Total votes: 347,785 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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2018
General election
General election for Attorney General of South Carolina
Incumbent Alan Wilson defeated Constance Anastopoulo in the general election for Attorney General of South Carolina on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Alan Wilson (R) | 55.1 | 938,032 |
 | Constance Anastopoulo (D) | 44.9 | 764,806 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 996 | ||
| Total votes: 1,703,834 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary runoff election
Republican primary runoff for Attorney General of South Carolina
Incumbent Alan Wilson defeated Todd Atwater in the Republican primary runoff for Attorney General of South Carolina on June 26, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Alan Wilson | 65.0 | 213,538 |
 | Todd Atwater | 35.0 | 115,133 | |
| Total votes: 328,671 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Attorney General of South Carolina
Constance Anastopoulo advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of South Carolina on June 12, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Constance Anastopoulo |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Attorney General of South Carolina
Incumbent Alan Wilson and Todd Atwater advanced to a runoff. They defeated William Herlong in the Republican primary for Attorney General of South Carolina on June 12, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Alan Wilson | 48.6 | 166,860 |
| ✔ | | Todd Atwater | 29.7 | 102,038 |
 | William Herlong | 21.6 | 74,199 | |
| Total votes: 343,097 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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2014
Wilson ran for re-election as South Carolina Attorney General in 2014.[4] He won the Republican nomination in the unopposed primary on June 10. The general election took place on November 4, 2014.
Results
General election
| Attorney General of South Carolina, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Alan Wilson Incumbent |
60.3% | 738,434 | |
| Democratic | Parnell Diggs | 39.7% | 486,058 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.1% | 879 | |
| Total Votes | 1,225,371 | |||
| Election results via South Carolina State Election Commission | ||||
2010
On November 2, 2010, Alan Wilson won election to the office of South Carolina Attorney General. He defeated Matthew Richardson (D) and Leslie Minerd (G) in the general election.
| South Carolina Attorney General, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Alan Wilson |
53.7% | 716,193 | |
| Democratic | Matthew Richardson | 44.2% | 589,135 | |
| Green | Leslie Minerd | 2% | 27,008 | |
| Write-In | Various | 0% | 470 | |
| Total Votes | 1,332,806 | |||
| Election results via South Carolina State Election Commission. | ||||
| 2010 Race for Attorney General - Republican Primary[5] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
| Republican Party |  Michael Alan Wilson
|
39.0%[6] | |
| Republican Party | William Leighton Lord, III | 37.1% | |
| Republican Party | Robert Bolchoz | 23.9% | |
| Total Votes | 385,312 | ||
| 2010 Race for Attorney General - Republican Primary Runoff[7] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
| Republican Party | Michael Alan Wilson
|
59.8% | |
| Republican Party | William Leighton Lord, III | 40.2% | |
| Total Votes | 343,874 | ||
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Alan Wilson did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
Noteworthy events
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| Coronavirus pandemic |
| Select a topic from the dropdown below to learn more.
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On November 18, 2020, Wilson announced that he would self-quarantine after being in contact with someone who later tested positive for the virus.[8]
State Supreme Court ruling on legislative corruption probe
On July 13, 2016, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled in a 4-1 decision that special prosecutor David Pascoe could continue an investigation into public corruption in the state legislature after he was removed from the case by Attorney General Wilson. Wilson had appointed Pascoe in 2014 to lead the State Law Enforcement Department (SLED) probe into former House Speaker Bobby Harrell (R); Harrell pleaded guilty to six counts of using campaign funds for personal use in October 2014.[9]
Wilson recused himself from the investigation in mid-2015, citing a conflict of interest. At that time, Wilson again appointed Pascoe to lead the probe; however, in early 2016, Wilson removed Pascoe from the case after Pascoe attempted to empanel a grand jury to further the investigation. Wilson's office claimed that the special prosecutor did not have the power to convene a grand jury, and asserted that Pascoe was incompetent and "difficult to work with."[10]
Pascoe appealed the decision to the state courts. In the Supreme Court decision, Chief Justice Costa Pleicones wrote:[11]
| “ | We conclude Pascoe has met his burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence [that] he was vested with the authority to act as the Attorney General in the redacted legislators matter, and that this authority necessarily included the power to initiate a state grand jury investigation.[12] | ” |
Order to reimburse attorneys for gay marriage case
On August 10, 2015, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Mark Gergel ordered Wilson to reimburse $135,000 in attorney fees and ancillary legal costs to a same-sex couple who sued the state of South Carolina in October 2014 after being denied a marriage license.
The lawsuit challenged the legality of South Carolina's enforcement of a ban on gay marriage following a 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that such a ban was unconstitutional. Led by Wilson and Governor Nikki Haley (R), South Carolina appealed the court's ruling and did not issue marriage licenses to gay couples, including the plaintiffs.
The U.S. Supreme Court's June 2015 ruling to legalize marriage for same-sex couples in all 50 states neutralized South Carolina's appeal to the 4th Circuit and brought the cost of the couple's legal challenge to bear on the state. [13][14] Wilson said that his efforts squared with the attorney general's chief duty to defend state law.[15]
Sections 4b and 5 of the Voting Rights Act
In 2012, the United States Supreme Court struck down section 4b of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act prevented certain jurisdictions from changing their election laws without getting the approval of the federal government. This was done in response to decades of voter discrimination, primarily in the South, that had prevented African Americans from exercising the right to vote. Section 4b determined which jurisdictions section 5 applied to. One of those jurisdictions was the state of South Carolina. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court held that the discriminatory concerns that the Voting Rights Act sought to address were no longer an issue in the jurisdictions covered by section 4b.[16]
In response to the Supreme Court's decision, Attorney General Wilson issued the following statement:
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"For nearly 50 years, Sections 4 and 5 have imposed an extraordinary intrusion into state sovereignty in certain states, including South Carolina. Over time, great strides have been made and Sections 4 and 5 have become obsolete. Today’s decision means the voting rights of all citizens will continue to be protected under the Voting Rights Act without requiring a different formula for states wishing to implement reasonable election reforms, such as voter ID laws similar to South Carolina’s. This is a victory for all voters as all states can now act equally without some having to ask for permission or being required to jump through the extraordinary hoops demanded by federal bureaucracy."[17] |
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Notable endorsements
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Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Wilson currently resides in West Columbia, South Carolina with his wife, Jennifer, and their two children - Michael and Anna Grace.[2]
See also
2022 Elections
External links
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Officeholder Attorney General of South Carolina |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Wilson for Attorney General, " Meet Alan Wilson," accessed July 18, 2013
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 South Carolina Attorney General, "Full Biography" accessed November 4, 2012
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 South Carolina Attorney General, "Full Biography-Alan Wilson," accessed April 18, 2012
- ↑ Fits News, Alan Wilson Sitting Pretty For Re-election, June 25, 2013
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission - 2010 Republican and Democratic Primary Election Results
- ↑ Even though Michael Alan Wilson received the most votes, he failed to receive over fifty percent of those votes required by South Carolina state law. A runoff election between the top two vote recipients, therefore, was required to decide who went on to the general election.
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission - 2010 Republican and Democratic Primary Runoff Election Results
- ↑ WSAV', "SC’s attorney general in isolation after COVID-19 contact," November 18, 2020
- ↑ The State, "Attorney General Wilson denounces special prosecutor Pascoe," March 30, 2016
- ↑ The State, "Attorney General Wilson denounces special prosecutor Pascoe," March 30, 2016
- ↑ The T&D, "High court backs Pascoe: Solicitor pleased with ruling on authority open probe by grand jury," July 13, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The Herald, "Challenge of gay marriage ruling was futile," August 12, 2015
- ↑ The Star Tribune, "Federal judge orders South Carolina attorney general to pay legal costs for gay marriage case," August 10, 2015
- ↑ The Post and Courier, "Judge orders S.C. attorney general to pay $135,276 in gay marriage attorneys’ fees," August 10, 2015
- ↑ Oyez, "Shelby County v. Holder," accessed November 25, 2015
- ↑ South Carolina Attorney General, ""ATTORNEY GENERAL ALAN WILSON ISSUES STATEMENT ON SHELBY COUNTY V. HOLDER," accessed November 25, 2015
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by - |
Attorney General of South Carolina 2011-Present |
Succeeded by - |
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State of South Carolina Columbia (capital) |
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