Trey Gowdy
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| Trey Gowdy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina's 4th district | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Bob Inglis |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 22, 1964 Greenville, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Residence | Spartanburg, South Carolina |
| Alma mater | Baylor University, B.A., University of South Carolina, Columbia, J.D. |
| Profession | Attorney at law |
| Religion | Southern Baptist |
| Website | www.gowdy.house.gov |
Harold Watson "Trey" Gowdy III (born August 22, 1964) is an American politician who has been the U.S. Representative forSouth Carolina's 4th congressional district since 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes much of theUpstate region, including Greenville and Spartanburg.
Before his election to Congress, he was the solicitor (district attorney) for the state's Seventh Judicial Circuit, comprisingSpartanburg and Cherokee counties. From 1994 to 2000, he was a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina.
Early life, education, and family[edit]
Gowdy was born in Greenville, but grew up in Spartanburg and currently calls Spartanburg home. He is the son of Novalene (née Evans) and Dr. Harold Watson "Hal" Gowdy, Jr.[1][2] Trey graduated from Spartanburg High School in 1982. He earned a B.A. in history from Baylor University in 1986. He was a member of Kappa Omega Tau, a service/social Fraternity while at Baylor University. He earned a J.D. degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1989. In law school, he was a member of the scholastic honor society "Wig and Robe."
Gowdy and his wife Terri have two children: Watson and Abigail. Watson is a sophomore in college and Abigail is a 10th grader. Terri Dillard Gowdy is a teacher's aide in Spartanburg School District.
Legal career[edit]
Following law school, he clerked for the late John P. Gardner on the South Carolina Court of Appeals and United States District Court Judge Ross Anderson. He then went into private practice before becoming a federal prosecutor in April 1994. He was awarded the Postal Inspector’s Award for the successful prosecution of J. Mark Allen, one of “America’s Most Wanted” suspects.
In February 2000, he left the United States Attorney’s Office to run for 7th Circuit Solicitor. He defeated incumbent Solicitor Holman Gossett[3] in the Republican primary. No other party even put up a candidate, ensuring his election in November. He was reelected in 2004 and 2008, both times unopposed. During his tenure, he appeared on “Forensic Files” twice, as well as Dateline NBC andSCETV.[4] He prosecuted the full gamut of criminal cases including 7 death penalty cases.
When the state faced a budget crunch that forced many employees to go on unpaid furloughs, Gowdy funneled part of his campaign account into the solicitor's budget so his staff could keep working.[5]
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