COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Mark Sanford, the former South Carolina congressman and governor whose political ascendency was stalled by a 2009 affair, wants to return to Congress — again.
An outsider with almost no name recognition when he launched his first congressional campaign for the 1994 contest, Sanford — a real estate investor — navigated a primary for the open seat, finishing second before winning the runoff. He served for six years before his outside run at governor, again pushing his way through a crowded primary, then knocking off the last Democrat to hold the office.
Just hours ahead of the deadline to do so, Sanford filed candidacy paperwork with state officials on Monday to run in the June 9 GOP primary for South Carolina’s 1st District seat, which he has held twice before.
Gubernatorial tenure dimmed by scandal
Sanford’s eight years as governor were overshadowed by the Appalachian Trail, which became shorthand for his disappearance to go to Argentina to see his lover. Sanford’s wife, family and his staff didn’t know where he was.
Beating back both an impeachment inquiry and calls to resign, Sanford held fast, leaving office on his own terms. Jenny Sanford moved out of the governor’s mansion in Columbia, relocated with their four sons into the family’s beachfront home near Charleston and later sued Sanford for divorce.
In a 2013 special election — a vacancy created when then-Gov. Nikki Haley appointed Tim Scott to the U.S. Senate — Sanford won back his old seat, beating 15 other candidates in a primary and runoff. He won two more full terms before falling in 2018 to a GOP challenger who had President Donald Trump’s backing.
The seat would go on to flip to Democratic hands that fall for the first time in decades, then was won back by GOP Rep. Nancy Mace in 2020. Mace is running for governor this year.
A run at the presidency
Sanford, 65, also briefly ran for president in 2020, challenging Trump for the nomination in what he characterized as a “long shot” effort around warnings about the national debt. Some, including Sanford’s former gubernatorial staffers, initially questioned whether the effort was a serious one, positing that it might be an effort to stay relevant after the 2018 defeat.
Sanford dropped out of the contest just ahead of the New Hampshire primary. Sanford’s home state would ultimately opt not to hold a 2020 GOP presidential primary, clearing the way for Trump’s nomination in South Carolina.
What’s next for Sanford’s political career
Since leaving the U.S. House, Sanford has hung onto more than $1.3 million in a federal campaign account, funds that he can now use in a primary crowded with 10 other Republicans, 7 Democrats and a number of third-party contenders. In his state campaign account, Sanford still has more than $1 million, funds that could now be transferred to an outside group supportive of his bid.
Sanford did not immediately return a message seeking comment Monday. True to the themes that have dominated his political thinking, an email release on Sanford’s candidacy focused on the national debt, with the candidate saying he felt 1st District voters wanted a representative “who is an advocate for financial sanity that has been lost in Washington for all too long.“
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Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP
