"Dick" Harpootlian (born January 23, 1949) is an American attorney and politician who served as a member of the South Carolina Senate from the 20th district from 2018 to 2024.

Harpootlian's law firm has represented neighborhoods near Five Points in Columbia, a popular weekend location for college students, in protestations against liquor licenses in the area.

[3] Harpootlian and Jim Griffin represent former attorney Alex Murdaugh, who had been charged with more than 90 counts of breach of trust with fraudulent intent, computer crimes, money laundering and forgery.

[4] On December 11, 2024, Harpootlian and Griffin filed a South Carolina Supreme Court appeal of the double murder conviction.

[26] In November 2019, Harpootlian was criticized for profanely threatening to have an aide of the Richland County Legislation Delegation fired over a press release which failed to include job openings at the Columbia airport.

"[33] In 2020, Harpootlian endorsed Joe Biden for president, stating "If the Democratic Party believes nominating a socialist is the way to win in November, they need to start drug testing at the national committee" in reference to Sanders.

[34] In September 2012, Harpootlian drew controversy when he compared then-governor Nikki Haley to Eva Braun, the mistress of Adolf Hitler.

The remarks were condemned by Norm Coleman, the chair of the Jewish coalition of Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, who accused him of "trivializing Nazism".

[36] Harpootlian's remarks were condemned as racist or xenophobic by Indian news outlets India Today, Firstpost, and Outlook.

[37][38][39] Harpootlian later apologized, claiming that he did not intend to target her ethnicity and that he wanted her to "go back to being an accountant in a dress store rather than being this fraud of a governor that we have".

[41] Later that day, members of the South Carolina Legislative Black Caucus held a press conference asking Biden to distance himself from Harpootlian.