# Stephen Goldfinch

Stephen Goldfinch is a Republican member of the South Carolina Senate for district 34.

- Party: Republican
- Seat: South Carolina Senate, district 34
- Serving since: 2016-11-14
- Current term: SC 2025–26 session
- Open States ID: ocd-person/9837e1c5-5014-4306-9f78-1550b1a9a2c2

Source: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/9837e1c5-5014-4306-9f78-1550b1a9a2c2 (America’s Political Pulse, Polarization Research Lab), data through 2026-10-27. Data under CC BY 4.0. Cite as: Westwood, Sean J., and Yphtach Lelkes. 2024. America's Political Pulse [data set].

## Headline

Goldfinch missed 33% of 691 roll calls, the lowest attendance of 46 in the South Carolina Senate (average 92.7%).

## What Goldfinch says (SC 2025–26 session)

26 classified statements: 26 posts on X. Each rate is the share of statements with the label, against the State Senate Republicans average; rank 1 is the highest rate.

| Label | Goldfinch | State Senate Republicans average | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal attacks | 11.5% | 2.3% | 12 of 354 |
| Policy criticism | 3.9% | 9.5% | 222 of 354 |
| Policy discussion | 38.5% | 37.3% | 168 of 354 |
| Bipartisanship | 0.0% | 2.3% | 311 of 354 |
| Credit claiming | 50.0% | 15.4% | 5 of 354 |
| Extreme labels | 0.0% | 1.3% | 261 of 354 |

Most discussed policy areas: Crime and Law Enforcement 30% (State Senate Republicans 12%); Government Operations and Politics 30% (State Senate Republicans 17%); Armed Forces and National Security 20% (State Senate Republicans 6.5%); Law 20% (State Senate Republicans 3.7%); Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues 10% (State Senate Republicans 5.0%).

## Ideology (CSIP)

CSIP score +0.19 (standard error 0.02), from 206 donors and 785 roll calls. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it, on one scale for every official. 26% of State Senate Republicans score lower.

## Votes (SC 2025–26 session)

691 roll calls. Attendance 67% (South Carolina Senate 92.7%). Party unity 84% (84%). 13 votes against the party majority.

Key votes:

- 2026-06-25 · voted not voting · to adopt the conference report · H 4709 US produced iron and steel · pass · https://openstates.org/sc/bills/2025-2026/H4709/
- 2026-06-25 · voted not voting · to adopt the conference report · H 4635 Physical Fitness Services · pass · https://openstates.org/sc/bills/2025-2026/H4635/
- 2026-06-25 · voted not voting · to adopt the conference report · H 3387 Unlawful occupants of property · pass · https://openstates.org/sc/bills/2025-2026/H3387/
- 2026-06-25 · voted not voting · to grant free conference powers · S 52 Driving under the influence · fail · https://openstates.org/sc/bills/2025-2026/S52/
- 2026-06-25 · voted not voting · to adopt the conference report · H 4069 Patient-Friendly Billing · pass · https://openstates.org/sc/bills/2025-2026/H4069/
- 2026-06-25 · voted not voting · to adopt the conference report · H 3021 Small Business Regulatory Freedom Act · pass · https://openstates.org/sc/bills/2025-2026/H3021/
- 2026-06-25 · voted not voting · to override the veto · S 238 Sine Die · pass · https://openstates.org/sc/bills/2025-2026/S238/
- 2026-06-25 · voted not voting · to concur · S 1043 Civil Air Patrol Leave Act · pass · https://openstates.org/sc/bills/2025-2026/S1043/
- 2026-06-25 · voted not voting · to grant free conference powers · H 4763 Helping Alleviate Lawful Obstruction (HALO) Act · pass · https://openstates.org/sc/bills/2025-2026/H4763/
- 2026-06-25 · voted not voting · to adopt the conference report · H 4248 Food labeling · pass · https://openstates.org/sc/bills/2025-2026/H4248/

## Legislation (SC 2025–26 session)

Sponsored 86 bills: 86 reached committee, 58 passed one chamber, 20 passed both, 6 became law. Cosponsored 0. 67.4% of sponsored bills got out of committee (South Carolina Senate 73.4%; rank 31 of 46).

Recent sponsored bills:

- S 1231: Sheriff Carter Weaver Concurrent (passed both chambers, 2026-08-25) https://openstates.org/sc/bills/2025-2026/S1231/
- S 1190: Lung Cancer Awareness Month (passed both chambers, 2026-05-13) https://openstates.org/sc/bills/2025-2026/S1190/
- S 1187: EMS Week in SC (passed both chambers, 2026-05-13) https://openstates.org/sc/bills/2025-2026/S1187/
- S 1133: Lonnie Hosey Purple Heart Highway (passed both chambers, 2026-05-07) https://openstates.org/sc/bills/2025-2026/S1133/
- S 1121: Colonel Claude Davis (passed one chamber, 2026-04-14) https://openstates.org/sc/bills/2025-2026/S1121/
- S 1085: Columbia Garden Club (passed one chamber, 2026-03-31) https://openstates.org/sc/bills/2025-2026/S1085/
- S 1088: Pineview 6U rookie ball All-Star champs (passed one chamber, 2026-03-31) https://openstates.org/sc/bills/2025-2026/S1088/
- S 1087: Multicultural Business Alliance Day in South Carolina (passed one chamber, 2026-03-31) https://openstates.org/sc/bills/2025-2026/S1087/
- S 1086: Pineview Coach Pitch DYB World Series Championship (passed one chamber, 2026-03-31) https://openstates.org/sc/bills/2025-2026/S1086/
- S 1056: GWOT (passed both chambers, 2026-03-26) https://openstates.org/sc/bills/2025-2026/S1056/

## Campaign money (2026 cycle)

Itemized receipts $36.6K (State Senate Republicans median $46.2K). 94% of itemized individual money came from in state. Aggregates only; no individual donors.

## Recent statements

Newest first. Posts on X are listed by date and link only.

- 2026-06-23 · Post on X · https://x.com/ScSenGoldfinch/status/2069387908151206236
- 2026-06-23 · Post on X · https://x.com/ScSenGoldfinch/status/2069389010007462005
- 2026-06-23 · Post on X · labels: credit claiming · https://x.com/ScSenGoldfinch/status/2069394897535132025
- 2026-06-23 · Post on X · labels: credit claiming · https://x.com/ScSenGoldfinch/status/2069437616366256362
- 2026-06-23 · Post on X · https://x.com/ScSenGoldfinch/status/2069437704777941076
- 2026-06-18 · Post on X · labels: credit claiming · https://x.com/ScSenGoldfinch/status/2067710982575837227
- 2026-06-18 · Post on X · labels: credit claiming · https://x.com/ScSenGoldfinch/status/2067716637978206347
- 2026-06-10 · Post on X · labels: credit claiming · https://x.com/ScSenGoldfinch/status/2064545050009145652
- 2026-06-10 · Post on X · labels: policy criticism, policy discussion, credit claiming · https://x.com/ScSenGoldfinch/status/2064797923527786513
- 2026-06-09 · Post on X · labels: credit claiming · https://x.com/ScSenGoldfinch/status/2064327816770912454

## Links

- Official site: https://www.scstatehouse.gov/member.php?code=0682386282
- Campaign site: https://stephengoldfinch.com/
- X: https://x.com/ScSenGoldfinch
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SenatorStephenGoldfinch
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephen.goldfinch.9
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-goldfinch-083bb019/

Full profile, with every chart and the methods: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/9837e1c5-5014-4306-9f78-1550b1a9a2c2