By admin 
For the first time since 2002, the race for South Carolina comptroller general has no incumbent running.
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Comptroller General Brian Gaines, who was appointed to the role in 2023 after the resignation of former Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom, is not seeking election to the office.
Why is this race noteworthy in 2026?
Eckstrom resigned from the office after he disclosed his office had inflated the state’s cash balances for a decade by $3.5 billion. State lawmakers indicated they were ready to remove him.
No money was missing or lost. The comptroller general’s office said the state had cash that did not exist. It was the product of double counting dollars that started when the state transitioned to a new accounting system.
Among the duties for the job is sitting on the State Fiscal Accountability Authority with the governor, treasurer, House Ways and Means chairman and Senate Finance chairman, to provide oversight on state spending.
The comptroller general’s office is the state’s top accountant and acts as the state’s chief fiscal watchdog. The office processes payment requests from agencies and ensures they are properly authorized.
Who is the Democratic nominee?
Tiffany Boozer is a quality assurance manager in the South Carolina Comptroller General’s Office.
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Boozer defeated Bruce Cole in the June 9 Democratic primary.
Boozer has been with the comptroller general’s office since 2025. She is a certified public accountant. She has previously worked as an auditor for the S.C. Department of Public Health, Department of Public Safety, and Department of Administration, accounting firms Ernst and Young, and Bauknight Pietras & Stormer.
“Managing the state’s finances is more than balancing a checkbook. It requires an understanding of governmental accounting standards, internal controls, financial reporting, auditing principles and complex accounting transactions,” Boozer wrote in an op-ed submitted to The State. “Every entry affects the accuracy of financial statements relied upon by taxpayers, lawmakers and bond rating agencies.”
Who is the Republican nominee?
Mike Burkhold started Equiscript in 2009 as a company that tracks health care transactions. He is now listed as a board member and founder on the website for the company that brings in millions in revenue.
Burkhold was the only Republican to file to run for the office.
“The real scandal is (that) the controller knew about it. The state auditor knew about it, okay? And our external auditor knew about it,” Burkhold told the Lexington County GOP in February when discussing the $3.5 billion accounting error. “That is a process that’s set up to protect our money, right? You got a controller who counts everything. You got a state auditor who oversees him full-time, and then you got an external auditor who oversees those two folks, and nobody blew a whistle on it. That’s a culture problem.”
Burkhold has the cash advantage in the race. He reported having $131,000 cash on hand as of June 30. He also previously loaned his campaign $750,000, but has since paid back most of that amount.
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Boozer had $6,300 cash on hand as of June 30.