Thomas E. Pope (born July 24, 1962) is an American politician. He is a Republican.
Career
Pope previously served as solicitor (equivalent to a district attorney) of the 16th Judicial Circuit in South Carolina, representing the people of Union and York counties from 1993 to 2006.[1][2]
Pope prosecuted Susan Smith in 1995 for the drowning death of her two children. He testified at her November 2024 parole hearing, recommending that she serve her full sentence.[3] [4] [5] [6]
He is currently a managing partner of Elrod Pope Law Firm in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
Political career
South Carolina House
Pope currently serves as speaker pro tempore within the South Carolina House of Representatives[7] and since 2010 has served as a South Carolina House Member from the 47th District.
In 2024 he was re-elected by acclamation as speaker pro tempore.[8]
2017 South Carolina 5th congressional district special election
On February 6, 2017, Pope announced his intention to seek South Carolina's 5th congressional district seat in the upcoming special election, due to the resignation of Mick Mulvaney to become the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
On May 2, 2017, Pope narrowly won the Republican primary for the U.S. congressional seat, leading by only 0.3%.[9] On May 16, 2017, Pope lost the runoff against Ralph Norman by 200 votes, or 0.6%.[10][11]
References
- ^ "Our Campaigns - SC Solicitor - District 16 Race - Nov 03, 1992".
- ^ "County of Union, South Carolina - 16th Circuit Solicitor's Office".
- ^ Emert, Jennifer (2024-10-29). "Former solicitor will urge S.C. Parole Board to uphold life sentence for Susan Smith". WLOS. Retrieved 2024-12-04.
- ^ "Susan Smith denied parole 30 years after drowning her 2 young sons: "I know what I did was horrible" - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. 2024-11-20. Retrieved 2024-12-04.
- ^ "AP". newsroom.ap.org. Retrieved 2024-12-04.
- ^ Fellow, Courtney McGinley (2024-11-06). "Ex-prosecutor talks 'selfish' Susan Smith: Prison sex and 'sugar daddies'". Newsweek. Retrieved 2024-12-04.
- ^ "South Carolina Legislature Online - Member Biography".
- ^ "South Carolina House Republicans and Democrats stick with same leadership for upcoming legislative session". WCBD News 2. 2024-12-04. Retrieved 2024-12-04.
- ^ "South Carolina Election Results: Two Republicans Advance, Democrat Wins in U.S. House Primaries". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
- ^ "Live Election Results: South Carolina's Fifth Congressional District". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
- ^ "Thomas E. "Tommy" Pope - Elrod Pope Law Firm". Elrod Pope Law Firm.
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