COLUMBIA, S.C. (Legal Newsline) - South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster made his candidacy for governor official Monday.

McMaster had said it was "highly likely" that he would run for governor in 2010. The Republican will be attempting to replace Mark Sanford, who has been widely criticized since news broke that he had a mistress in Argentina.

McMaster is toting a "Path to Prosperity," which is 10 principles of economic reform, he said.

"Our goal is not merely to create new jobs," McMaster said. "We want jobs that pay well.

"And we want those jobs distributed all across our state, with rising income levels for all our citizens. In the global economy, the future belongs not to those who manage scarcity. The future belongs to those who create abundance."

McMaster is in his second term as attorney general. He has been a U.S. Attorney, the first appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, and has four times been picked as chairman of the state's Republican party.

McMaster also served as the Chief Sergeant at Arms at last year's Republican National Convention in Minnesota.

His Path to Prosperity outlines job recruitment strategies and offers lower taxes, he said.

"As governor, I will promote and defend conservative, Republican principles, driven by the free marketplace. And if we work together with a new spirit of unity and optimism, we shall not fail," McMaster said.

Other current state attorneys general planning to run for governor in 2010 are Florida's Bill McCollum, Georgia's Thurbert Baker, California's Jerry Brown, Pennsylvania's Tom Corbett, Rhode Island's Patrick Lynch, Oklahoma's Drew Edmondson and Michigan's Mike Cox.

Former Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell resigned his post earlier this year to concentrate on his gubernatorial campaign.

From Legal Newsline: Reach John O'Brien by e-mail at jobrienwv@gmail.com.