Solicitor David Pascoe switches to Republican Party

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCBD) — Longtime prosecutor David Pascoe announced Thursday that he is leaving the Democratic Party.

Pascoe, who has served as First Circuit Solicitor since 2005, said he decided to switch his party affiliation because the Democratic Party has become “too soft on crime.”

Pascoe, 58, was chosen as the special prosecutor in a 2014 State House corruption probe that ultimately led to the indictments of several Republican lawmakers, including former House Speaker Bobby Harrell, and prominent political consultant Richard Quinn Sr. 

In recent years, he has also become an outspoken critic of the state’s judicial selection process and the influence lawyer-legislators hold over it.

The Virginia native earned his undergraduate degree from The Citadel in 1989. After graduating from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1993, Pascoe worked as a prosecutor with the Fifth Circuit Solicitor’s Office and Attorney General’s Office, successfully trying more than 100 violent crime cases across the state, according to his biography.

He was joined by Dorchester County Sheriff Sam Richardson (R) and Republican solicitors from across the state for the April 10 announcement at the Summerville Country Club.

South Carolina’s current attorney general, Alan Wilson, is widely expected to seek the Republican nomination for governor next year.

This story is developing and may be updated.