McCall-Tanner to run against former boss for 14th Circuit Solicitor

Angela McCall-Tanner, a former judge and the wife of Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner, is running to become solicitor of South Carolina’s 14th Judicial Circuit.

McCall-Tanner, a Repulican, filed her campaign paperwork with the state late last week.

Current Solicitor Duffie Stone has yet to file but said Monday that he “will be seeking re-election” and plans to make his campaign official later this week.

McCall-Tanner, a 1998 University of South Carolina School of Law graduate, served as a Beaufort County magistrate judge from 2014 until last week, when she stepped down to run for the solicitor’s post.

Prior to that, she spent a dozen years working in the 14th Solicitor’s Office and, in 2006, was promoted to deputy solicitor.

In the years since, “I never lost that desire and passion to be a prosecutor,” McCall-Tanner said Monday.

“Through conversations with members the community, I just decided that this would be a good time” to make a run for the position, she said.

McCall-Tanner said she realizes there will be people with concerns about her marriage to the county’s top cop.

“There is no conflict of interest,” she said. “People may call it that, but it isn’t that.”

“I’m not offended by it. It’s a legitimate question, because it’s a unique situation,” she said. “But at the end of the day, law enforcement and prosecutors need to have a close relationship; we are supposed to share information.”

Stone declined to comment on McCall-Tanner, his former employee and current political opponent.

“Right now I’m going to focus on getting our message out and hoping (that message) earns the trust of the voters,” he said.

That message, Stone said, includes touting his administration’s efforts to crack down on repeat offenders, domestic violence and gun crimes.

As of Monday afternoon, McCall-Tanner was the only candidate to file for the position at the solicitor’s office, which prosecutes crimes in Beaufort, Jasper, Hampton, Colleton and Allendale counties.

Assuming Stone files for re-election as planned, he and McCall-Tanner will face off in the June 14 Republican primary election.

This story was originally published March 28, 2016 at 4:08 PM with the headline "McCall-Tanner to run against former boss for 14th Circuit Solicitor."