Thomas E. Pope (born July 24, 1962) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

politician. He currently serves as ''Pro Tempore'' within the South Carolina House of Representatives and has served as a South Carolina House Member, from the 47th District, since 2010. As a member of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

. Pope previously served as

Solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

(County District Attorney) of the 16th Judicial Circuit in South Carolina, representing the people of

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

and

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

counties from 1993 to 2006. Pope prosecuted

Susan Smith Susan Leigh Smith (née Vaughan; born September 26, 1971) is an American woman who was convicted of murdering her two sons, three-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander, in 1994 by drowning them in a South Carolina lake. The case gained i ...

in 1995 for the drowning death of her two children. He is currently a managing partner o
Elrod Pope Law Firm
in Rock Hill, South Carolina. On February 6, 2017, Pope announced his intention to seek

South Carolina's 5th congressional district The 5th congressional district of South Carolina is a congressional district in northern South Carolina bordering North Carolina. The district includes all of Cherokee, Chester, Fairfield, Kershaw, Lancaster, Lee, Union and York counties ...

seat in the upcoming special election, due to the resignation of Mick Mulvaney to become the Director of the

Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...

. On May 2, 2017, Pope narrowly won the Republican Primary for the U.S. congressional seat, leading by only 0.3%. On May 16, 2017, Pope lost the runoff against

Ralph Norman Ralph Warren Norman Jr. (born June 20, 1953) is an American real estate developer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2017. His district includes most of the South Carolina side of the Charlotte metropolitan area, alo ...

by 200 votes, or 0.6%.

References

, - , - 1962 births 21st-century American politicians Living people Republican Party members of the South Carolina House of Representatives People from Seneca, South Carolina People from Rock Hill, South Carolina South Carolina state solicitors University of South Carolina School of Law alumni {{SouthCarolina-politician-stub