Curtis Loftis

Curtis M. Loftis Jr. (born September 8, 1958) is an American politician. He currently serves as the Treasurer of South Carolina. A member of the Republican Party, Loftis has held elective office since 2010.

Loftis was born in Columbia, South Carolina. He attended Brookland-Cayce High School and graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1981. Loftis was twice elected president of the Student Senate and served as president of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.

Loftis is the owner of several central South Carolina businesses and is involved in real estate.

In 1999, Loftis established Saluda Charitable Foundation and remains the principal benefactor. The foundation's activities are faith-based and provide nutritional and housing services to orphans and the elderly. SCF provided over 500,000 meals to the needy and supported medical missions in Haiti.

In March 2010, Loftis announced his candidacy for Treasurer of South Carolina in the Republican primary. Loftis characterized himself as a conservative reform candidate.

Loftis was endorsed by former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, and former US Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. Loftis received many state Tea Party movement endorsements including many in the business community and several newspaper endorsements.

On June 8, 2010, Loftis defeated the incumbent State Treasurer, Converse Chellis in the Republican Primary with 62% of the vote, carrying all of the state's 46 counties.

Treasurer Loftis became the first Republican to defeat a sitting incumbent in a statewide GOP primary.