Trey Gowdy

He is married to Terri (née Dillard) Gowdy. She was one of the finalists of the Miss South Carolina contest and became Miss Spartanburg. Terri presently serves as a teacher’s aide in the Spartanburg School District.

The couple is blessed with a son, Watson, who is in his sophomore year at the ‘Clemson University’, and a daughter, Abigail.

Trey Gowdy was born Harold Watson Gowdy III on August 22, 1964, in Greenville, South Carolina to Dr. Harold Watson "Hal" Gowdy, Jr and Novalene (née Evans). He was raised in Spartanburg.

In his youth he would work at the community market and also deliver local newspaper. In 1982, he graduated from ‘Spartanburg High School’.

In 1986, he obtained a BA degree in History from ‘Baylor University’. He then went on to obtain a Juris Doctor degree from ‘University of South Carolina School of Law’ in 1989 where he remained a member of the scholastic honor society ‘Order of the Wig and Robe’.

Beginning his legal career as a clerk he worked for John P. Gardner on the South Carolina Court of Appeals and went on to serve George Ross Anderson, Jr., a judge of US District Court.

He then started practicing privately and in April 1994 he was chosen as a US federal prosecutor. His tenure in such capacity saw him prosecuting a wide range of federal crimes including cases associated with child pornography, murder, bank robberies and narcotics trafficking rings among others.

He was successful in prosecuting one of ‘America’s Most Wanted’ suspects J. Mark Allen that won him the Postal Inspector’s Award. As a federal prosecutor, he also earned highest performance ratings successively for two years.

In order to run for 7th Circuit Solicitor, Gowdy quit the United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) in February 2000. In the Republican primary he beat incumbent Solicitor Holman Gossett while in the general election he ran unopposed thus becoming the Solicitor for South Carolina's 7th Judicial Circuit.

Leading an office of twenty-five attorneys, Gowdy took several initiatives as 7th Circuit Solicitor including setting up a Worthless Check Program and a Violence Against Women Task Force, putting into action a Drug Mother Protocol; and expanding Drug Court.