Posts

Despite Scandal, Ex-SC Gov. Sanford Back in Office

/0 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Rainier EhrhardtFour years after scandal derailed his political career, ex-Republican Gov. Mark Sanford once again holds a South Carolina political office, winning back his old congressional seat Tuesday after a race in which he battled his past and an opponent who outdid him in fundraising.

Sanford’s resurrection was completed when he defeated Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch, the sister of political satirist Stephen Colbert, in a district that hasn’t elected a Democratic congressman in more than three decades.

“Some guy came up to me the other day and said you look a lot like Lazarus,” Sanford told a crowd of more than 100 cheering supporters at his victory celebration, referring to the man who, according to the Bible, Christ raised from the dead.

With all precincts reporting, Sanford had about 54 percent of the vote.

“I’ve talked a lot about grace during the course of this campaign,” he said. “Until you experience human grace as a reflection of God’s grace, I don’t think you really get it. And I didn’t get it before.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Political Resurrection: Sanford Says SC Will Judge Him, Not His Affair

/0 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford — running again for the U.S. House seat he held for three terms — says he’s prepared to be hammered over the steamy extramarital affair that tarnished his rising political star.

“It goes with the territory,” Sanford told Newsmax TV’s “The Steve Malzberg Show,” two days after beating former Charleston County Councilman Curtis Bostic for the GOP nomination.

“The folks in the media, what do they want to do? They want to take one chapter of your life and completely define your life by that chapter.

“But what many people here along the coast of South Carolina said to me is, ‘You know, Mark, I’m no sooner going to judge you by your worst day than I’ll judge you by your best day. I’m going to look at the totality.’”

Sanford, a two-term governor, triggered a political scandal when he vanished for five days in 2009. Reporters were falsely told he was hiking along the Appalachian Trail.

Read more from this story HERE.

Sanford Is Frontrunner in S.C. House Race, But Says Political Return ‘Humbling, Difficult’

/0 Comments/in , /by

South Carolina’s unpredictable political universe is now in full orbit with a special election next month that features 18 congressional candidates including a former governor and two first-timers with celebrity last names.

That former Republican Gov. Mark Sanford is an early favorite for the seat he held from 1995 to 2001, despite having had an extra-marital affair while in office, is no surprise.

The open seat is in the conservative 1st congressional district, in largely conservative South Carolina. Furthermore, only Sanford appears to have the kind of political name recognition to raise enough money over such a short period.

“We’ve got a tight time frame, and Sanford’s name ID allows him to be the frontrunner,” said Republican strategist Adam Temple, who has worked for South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint and on Arizona Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign.

Sanford told FoxNews.com this week he’s so far been humbled by the experience, with everybody from fellow state Republicans to everyday voters appearing ready to give him another shot at elected office.

Read more from this story HERE.

DeMint On Prospect of Jenny Sanford Replacing Him: ‘She’s Great’

/0 Comments/in , /by

WASHINGTON — Sen. Jim DeMint suggested in a brief interview with The Daily Caller on Thursday that he would approve if former South Carolina first lady Jenny Sanford is tapped to take over the Senate seat he is vacating next month.

“She’s great,” DeMint said Thursday afternoon, as he walked off the Senate floor after a vote.

DeMint, a Republican, announced last week that he’s resigning from the U.S. Senate to take over as head of the Heritage Foundation, a Washington D.C.-based conservative think tank.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley will appoint DeMint’s successor. Haley is thought to be considering at least five people for the seat, including Sanford, whose ex-husband, Mark Sanford, was governor of the state.

Read more from this story HERE.