Richard Eckstrom
Richard A. Eckstrom is an American politician from the state of South Carolina. He is the Comptroller General of South Carolina.
Eckstrom was born in Duluth, Minnesota, on June 23, 1948. His family moved to Columbia, South Carolina, in 1957, when his father, a professor, took a job at the University of South Carolina. He graduated from USC in 1971 with a bachelor's degree. He served in the United States Navy, reaching the rank of captain, and worked in business. Eckstrom returned to school and earned a Master of Business Administration from USC in 1977. He went to work for Peat Marwick Mitchell in Columbia in 1978. He earned a master's degree in accounting from USC in 1987. He is a certified public accountant.
In the 1994 elections, Eckstrom ran as a Republican for Treasurer of South Carolina and defeated Grady Patterson, a Democrat who served in the role for 28 years. Patterson defeated Eckstrom in the 1998 elections. In 1999, Eckstrom ran in a special election to the South Carolina House of Representatives to succeed André Bauer, who resigned after being elected to the South Carolina Senate. Eckstrom lost to Chip Huggins.
In 2002, Eckstrom ran for Comptroller General of South Carolina, and he defeated Jim Lander, the incumbent. He was reelected in 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018.
Eckstrom and his wife, Peggy, have three children. After their marriage ended, Eckstrom married Kelly Payne in December 2019.
