Curtis Loftis, Jr.

Curtis Loftis

Republican Party

South Carolina Treasurer

Tenure

2011 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

14

Compensation

Base salary

$164,000

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 8, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

University of South Carolina

Personal

Religion

Christian: Baptist

Contact

Official website

Official Twitter

Official YouTube

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Curtis Loftis (Republican Party) is the South Carolina Treasurer. He assumed office in 2011. His current term ends on January 13, 2027.

Loftis (Republican Party) ran for re-election for South Carolina Treasurer. He won in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Loftis completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.

As treasurer, Loftis has returned more than $300 million in unclaimed funds to state residents and overseen the growth of the state’s 529 college savings plan to 200,000 account holders with nearly $6 billion in assets.

Biography

In 1981, Loftis founded Home Pest Control Company, a firm he actively managed until his retirement in 2001. In 2001 he founded and became the benefactor of the Saluda Charitable Foundation, which funds housing, medical care, education and other social services for the elderly and orphans. He has also been a real estate investor. After retirement in 2001, and before becoming state treasurer, he became a full time participant in the nonprofit humanitarian field, and was active in national and local politics. Loftis has been a political volunteer since age 16.

Loftis was born in 1958 in Lexington County, South Carolina, and graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1981 with a bachelor’s degree in business. He resides in Columbia, South Carolina.

Political career

South Carolina Treasurer (2011 - Present)

Loftis was elected in 2010 with a number of other tea party candidates across the country. As treasurer, Loftis serves as the chairman of the State Board of Financial Institutions, vice chairman of the State Budget & Control Board, vice chairman of the South Carolina Tobacco Authority, vice chairman of the South Carolina Education Authority, and a member of the South Carolina Retirement System Investment Commission.

Elections

2022

See also: South Carolina Treasurer election, 2022

General election

General election for South Carolina Treasurer

Incumbent Curtis Loftis defeated Sarah Work in the general election for South Carolina Treasurer on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Curtis Loftis (R)	79.7	1,129,961
		Sarah Work (Alliance Party)	19.9	281,695
		Other/Write-in votes	0.5	6,630

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,418,286
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Curtis Loftis advanced from the Republican primary for South Carolina Treasurer.

Alliance Party convention

Alliance Party convention for South Carolina Treasurer

Sarah Work advanced from the Alliance Party convention for South Carolina Treasurer on April 23, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Sarah Work (Alliance Party)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2018

See also: South Carolina Treasurer election, 2018

General election

General election for South Carolina Treasurer

Incumbent Curtis Loftis defeated Rosalyn Glenn and Sarah Work in the general election for South Carolina Treasurer on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Curtis Loftis (R)	56.0	952,233
		Rosalyn Glenn (D)	42.5	722,977
		Sarah Work (American Party)	1.5	25,979
		Other/Write-in votes	0.0	711

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,701,900
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for South Carolina Treasurer

Rosalyn Glenn advanced from the Democratic primary for South Carolina Treasurer on June 12, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Rosalyn Glenn

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for South Carolina Treasurer

Incumbent Curtis Loftis advanced from the Republican primary for South Carolina Treasurer on June 12, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Curtis Loftis

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2014

See also: South Carolina down ballot state executive elections, 2014

Loftis ran for a second term as state treasurer in the 2014 election. His announcement ended a period of deliberation over a potential bid to challenge incumbent Nikki Haley in the 2014 Republican primary for governor. He won the Republican nomination in the primary on June 10. Curtis Loftis, Jr. won the general election on November 4, 2014, without opposition.

Primary results

South Carolina Treasurer, Republican Primary, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Curtis Loftis, Jr.	62%	177,854
Brian Adams	38%	108,934
Total Votes		286,788
Election results via South Carolina State Elections Commission.

2010

Loftis won election as South Carolina Treasurer without opposition on November 2, 2010.

South Carolina Treasurer, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Curtis Loftis	98.9%	907,755
	Write-In	Various	1.1%	9,748
Total Votes				917,503
Election results via South Carolina State Election Commission

Issues

ESG

See also: Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG), State financial officer stances on environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)

Environmental, social, and corporate governance
Select a topic from the dropdown below to learn more. Economy and Society: Ballotpedia's weekly ESG newsletterEnvironmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)Key terms (ESG)Materiality (ESG)Opposition to ESGSocially responsible investingSustainabilitySubmit

Loftis took positions in opposition to the Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) movement.

State financial officers, including treasurers, auditors, and controllers, are responsible for auditing other government offices, managing payroll, and overseeing pensions. In some states, certain SFOs are also responsible for investing state retirement and trust funds.

Completion of divestment from BlackRock (October 2022)

In October 2022, a news release from the state treasurer’s office on behalf of Loftis announced the divesting of “the final $200 million of BlackRock holdings from a $5 billion portfolio managed by his office, a move that completes a series of actions taken against BlackRock to reduce its impact on the state’s investment portfolios.”

According to the statement, Loftis began the policy of divesting from BlackRock in 2017 due to the investment management firm’s “focus on promoting progressive Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors as part of its investment strategies.”

“Five years ago, I realized that ESG had the potential to seriously undermine our state’s economic model from one that values fiduciary responsibility and sound financial judgment to one that pushes the left-wing political agenda of ‘stakeholder capitalism’,” said Loftis, according to the news release. “I have been clear with our financial partners that they will not usurp my fiduciary responsibility to maximize investment returns while accepting a prudent level of risk for the benefit of our citizens. It is imperative that we stand up to BlackRock and others to resist the pressure to adopt their Leftist world view.”

Opposition to Morningstar ratings of Israel investments (August 2022)

In late August 2022, Loftis and 17 other members of the State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF) co-signed a letter addressed to the Morningstar investment rating service expressing their “serious concern regarding reports that Morningstar, Inc. (Morningstar), through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Sustainalytics, negatively rates firms connected to Israel in apparent alignment with the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.” The letter asserted the BDS movement was “antithetical to the global causes of peace, democracy, and human rights” and asked Morningstar to take corrective action immediately to terminate all research and ratings products that treat Israel-connected companies differently than companies operating in other free democracies.”

Opposition to SEC proposal to mandate ESG reporting (June 2022)

In June 2022, Loftis and 22 other state financial officials submitted a comment to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) opposing an SEC rule proposal titled the “Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors.” In December 2022, the Pittsburgh Business Times reported that if the SEC rule were finalized it “would become some of the first mandatory environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting requirements for U.S. companies, requiring the disclosure of climate-related risk information in registration statements and periodic reports.”

“We have watched with dismay as the Commission and other federal commissions and boards have proposed rules and policies that promote political causes that will adversely affect public finance and retirement income,” wrote the state financial officers in the letter. “The Proposed Rule is another such rule.”

"This is another flagrant attempt by the Biden administration to take power away from the states by circumventing the democratic process and legislating through SEC regulations," said Loftis in a separate statement. "I am committed to working with my fellow state treasurers and auditors to fight the Left's continued push of ESG and their lack of regard for how this will impact our states and citizens."

Letter to Department of Labor regarding use of ESG criteria in ERISA decisions (May 2022)

In May 2022, Loftis and 37 state officials from 23 states cosigned a letter to the U.S. Department of Labor Employment Benefits Security Administration to oppose the implementation of proposed agency rule. The proposed rule would allow fiduciaries of private pension plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) to “make investment decisions that reflect climate change and other environmental, social, or governance (“ESG”) considerations, including climate-related financial risk, and choose economically targeted investments (“ETIs”) selected, in part, for benefits apart from the investment return.”

The cosigners objected to the rule, writing that it “would irrationally require fiduciaries to elevate immaterial and speculative risks in employee retirement savings investment decisions” where instead the fiduciaries should be “considering only the material financial or pecuniary factors of each potential investment.”

Pro-American Energy Letter to President Biden (April 2022)

In April 2022, Loftis and 26 other state financial officers cosigned an open letter to President Joe Biden criticizing his administration for promoting an ESG agenda and enacting policies that “thwart the vitality of American energy production.” The letter specifically criticized Biden for canceling the Keystone XL pipeline, disallowing new oil and natural gas leases on federal lands, canceling drilling projects in Alaska and imposing “anti-oil and gas rulemaking from the highest levels of government.”

“Instead of asking Americans to purchase electric vehicles—which is simply not an option for a great number of American families—government leaders should eliminate barriers to and expand development of these critical resources, bringing down the price of gas at the pump,” wrote the letter signers. “Most Americans cannot afford to purchase an electric vehicle or equip their home with a full set of solar panels, and many in rural America need traditional fuel to run the trucks that service their farms and help feed their communities.”

“We know that rising energy costs are ultimately passed on to American taxpayers, and it’s time that President Biden prioritized the needs and economic interests of American families over special interest groups,” said Loftis, in a separate statement.

Opposition to Federal Reserve Bank appointee (January 2022)

In January 2022, Loftis was one of 25 members of the State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF) who co-signed a letter to President Joe Biden (D), asking him to withdraw the nomination of Sarah Bloom Raskin to the Federal Reserve Bank Board of Governors.

In a May 2020 New York Times commentary titled “Why Is the Fed Spending So Much Money on a Dying Industry?,” Raskin wrote that Federal Reserve policy decisions should be biased against the fossil fuel industry: “The decisions the Fed makes on our behalf should build toward a stronger economy with more jobs in innovative industries — not prop up and enrich dying ones.”

Loftis and the signatories on the SFOF letter wrote that they were concerned Raskin “would use the supervisory authority as Vice-Chair for Supervision at the Federal Reserve Bank to disrupt the private banking sector, reliable energy supplies, and the U.S. economy.”

In March 2022, Raskin withdrew her name from consideration for the Federal Reserve position.

Opposition to U.S. Department of Labor ESG rules (December 2021)

In December 2021, Loftis and 35 other state financial officers and attorneys general submitted a public comment to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in opposition to a proposed DOL rule that would encourage financial managers to consider ESG factors when selecting investments for private sector pension plans.

Titled the “Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights,” the rule would state that pension plan managers “can make investment decisions that reflect climate change and other environmental, social, or governance (‘ESG’) considerations, including climate-related financial risk, and choose economically targeted investments (‘ETIs’) selected, in part, for benefits apart from the investment return.”

Loftis and the other officials wrote that the rule “would allow employers and investment managers to invest employee retirement savings in a way that benefits social causes and corporate goals even if it adversely affects the return to the employee” and that it would permit “proxy voting in ways that support ESG investment goals contrary to shareholder interests.”

The state officials wrote that they were “opposed to investment managers and employers being encouraged or mandated to consider ESG factors and protected from legal action when they do” and that the DOL’s proposed rule “makes what should be a financial decision into a political one.”

“This is just another concerning example of how entities pushing liberal agendas are insinuating themselves into financial matters with little regard for the harm these proposals can have on the financial well-being of American citizens,” Loftis said in a separate statement. “We must stand up for the hard-working people who are saving for their retirement and make sure that our federal government doesn’t allow special interests or social causes to undermine citizens’ ability to save for their future livelihood.”

West Virginia letter supporting financial system access for fuel industry (November 2021)

Loftis was a co-signer on a November 22, 2021, letter sent by West Virginia State Treasurer Riley Moore (R) and addressed: “To Whom It May Concern in the U.S. Banking Industry.” The signatories were the treasurers, auditors and comptrollers from fifteen states. The letter identified them as the “fiduciaries and stewards of more than $600 billion” in combined investment capital.

The letter began: “We are writing to notify you that we will be taking collective action in response to the ongoing and growing economic boycott of traditional energy production industries by U.S. financial institutions.” The signatories wrote their individual actions would be tailored to fit each state’s unique laws and economic position, but that the coordinated objective would be “to select financial institutions that support a free market and are not engaged in harmful fossil fuel industry boycotts for our states’ financial services contracts.”

Letter to John Kerry regarding banking access for energy firms (May 2021)

Loftis was one of fourteen other state treasurers who co-signed a May 2021 letter sent by West Virginia State Treasurer Riley Moore (R) to Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry (D). The treasurers informed Kerry of their concern that he and others in President Joe Biden’s (D) administration were “privately pressuring U.S. banks and financial institutions to refuse to lend to or invest in coal, oil, and natural gas companies, as part of a misguided strategy to eliminate the fossil fuel industry in our country.” The signatories told Kerry that they “strongly oppose the Biden Administration’s efforts to cut off financing for law-abiding industries that are essential to the economy and our citizens’ way of life.”

According to a March 12, 2021, Politico story referenced in the letter, Kerry was “prodding major U.S. banks privately to announce commitments for climate-friendly finance.” The report also revealed that the Biden administration and several climate policy groups held a March 9, 2022, teleconference to discuss “potential financial sector regulations and executive actions to limit risk from climate change-fueled shocks.” Politico listed representatives from the following groups as participants on the call: the Center for American Progress, Public Citizen, Rainforest Action Network, Sierra Club and 350.org.

“As the State’s Banker and Chairman of the State Board of Financial Institutions, I am strongly opposed to President Biden and his Democratic colleagues’ attempt to force their Green New Deal initiatives through Congress,” said Loftis, in a separate statement. “It’s become apparent they don’t have the support needed to succeed, and now they’re trying to bully our financial institutions to enact their radical agenda.”

Presidential preference

2012

See also: Endorsements by state officials of presidential candidates in the 2012 election

Curtis Loftis, Jr. endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Curtis Loftis completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Loftis' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

As Treasurer, Curtis Loftis serves as the “state’s banker,” managing, investing and retaining custody of $60 billion in public funds, and works to ensure that South Carolina maintains its highly coveted credit ratings.

Since taking office, Treasurer Curtis Loftis has returned more than $300 million in unclaimed funds to South Carolinians – more than all previous state treasurers combined – and has guided the Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan to more than quadruple in size, with more than 200,000 accounts and total assets under management of nearly $6 billion. With more than 2,600 account holders and $22 million assets under management, the Palmetto ABLE Savings Plan has become one of the fastest growing plans in the nation.

Loftis is a fierce advocate for greater accountability, transparency and fiscal management in state government. As Treasurer, he has championed a number of causes for the benefit of state government and all South Carolinians, including financial education in K-12 schools. He has been a consistent leader in resisting mandates from unelected bodies, especially as it relates to public pension reform, overreaching regulations that harm taxpayers and states, and more recently, the increased emphasis on ESG.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• 1) Spread the Treasurer’s Office expertise and best practices across state government to ensure that the people’s money is well managed and protected.
• 2) Continue to enhance the people’s right to a transparent and accountable government. When costly mistakes are made the people should know “who, what, when and where” so that those mistakes are not made a second time.
• 3) Specifically, in my term as Treasurer I have: grown Future Scholar, the state’s 529 college savings plan, to more than 200,000 account holders and nearly $6 billion in assets under management, as of August 2022. Also, my administration has returned more than $300 million in unclaimed funds to South Carolinians – more than all previous state treasurers combined. The taxpayers work diligently for their money and their government should be equally diligent in accounting for and protecting it.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

My tenure as Treasurer has brought much needed and significant change to the office and it is now widely regarded as exceptionally capable and professional. The best practices are employed to manage, invest and custody approximately $45 billion.

As State Treasurer, I am committed to reducing costs and eliminating waste and fraud for South Carolinians, including adopting new technologies for more efficient, secure electronic fund transfers.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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.

---

Curtis Loftis campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2022	South Carolina Treasurer	Won general	$34,982	$2,059
2014	SC Treasurer	Won	$349,979	N/A**
2010	SC Treasurer	Won	$842,341	N/A**
Grand total			$1,227,302	$2,059
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Noteworthy events

Ethics charges (2016)

In 2014, former deputy executive director of the South Carolina Budget and Control Board, Samuel Griswold, brought a complaint against Loftis to the State Ethics Commission. The complaint alleged that Loftis did not disclose a personal relationship with an attorney he hired to represent the treasurer's office in a securities lawsuit against the Bank of New York Mellon. At the time, Michael Montgomery, the attorney in question, served on the board of a nonprofit with Loftis. Montgomery was paid $2 million upon resolution of the lawsuit. According to the state's ethics regulations, elected officials are prohibited from using their office for financial gains for "himself, a family member, an individual with whom he is associated, or a business with whom he is associated."

On October 28, 2016, the commission announced that it was reprimanding Loftis for granting the contract to Montgomery. No fine was imposed. "It is undisputed that the decision to hire Montgomery was a governmental decision and Montgomery had an economic interest in his retention as special counsel for the state treasurer," wrote chairwoman of the ethics panel, Regina Hollins Lewis.

Loftis issued a statement following the commission's decision, saying "While I am gratified that the commission acknowledged this alleged violation was inadvertent and unintentional, I will appeal this decision and the $500 administrative fee. This was a subjective and unprecedented ruling . . . This action was filed by cronies of the SC Investment Commission, the same Commission that lost $7 billion of the public’s money through their disastrous investment decisions. I blew the whistle on their unbelievably poor performance and this is just one part of their retribution." In January 2017, The State reported that Loftis would not appeal the decision and administrative fee.

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
As of this writing, Loftis was a member of the Saluda-Ternopil board of directors and Doctors on Missions. He lived in West Columbia and was a member of First Baptist Church.

See also

2022 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

The Heart of the Primaries The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel Union Station

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Officeholder

South Carolina Treasurer

Website

Twitter

YouTube

Personal

Facebook

LinkedIn

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	South Carolina Treasurer 2011-Present	Succeeded by -