Here we go... The "Silly Season" of the midterm elections has officially started, and there is nothing sillier than a politician whose time has long passed attempting another bite at the apple. This week's Exhibit A: Former South Carolina governor, Congressman, and infamous philanderer Mark Sanford. On the last day of the South Carolina election filing deadline, Sanford decided that the people of the Palmetto state, and all of America, really needed him.
Mmmkay.
Former South Carolina congressman and governor Mark Sanford has filed to run for his old U.S. House seat, reentering politics years after his last campaign but still focused on tackling America's mounting debt, deficit and government spending.
Sanford told The Post and Courier he felt compelled to run again in the Lowcountry’s 1st Congressional District, arguing the economic cliff he has long warned about is now more urgent than ever.
“People have been telling me it’s time to get off the bleachers,” Sanford said, noting that more voters are recognizing that government spending is becoming unsustainable
NEW: Mark Sanford is back, and he's running for his old Congressional seat.
— Caitlin Byrd (@MaryCaitlinByrd) March 30, 2026
This AM, Sanford filed to run for #SC01. He is again sounding the alarm on the national debt, saying it's time for him to "get off the bleachers."https://t.co/P5dFAoDcxi #SC01 #scpol #scnews #chsnews pic.twitter.com/5RgyC5cStC
And how exactly does he plan to speak into this economic crisis? This is the same governor who, in 2009, disappeared for a week, claiming he was hiking the Appalachian Trail, when he was really chasing Argentinian tail. On the taxpayer's dime, Sanford disappeared to Argentina to have an extramarital affair. Serious people haven't forgotten this. The good folks of District 1? Remains to be seen.
According to some tea spilled by the New York Post, Sanford even had a 2020 affair with "journalist" Olivia Nuzzi. After President Bill Clinton skated Bimbo eruptions and impeachment, the American electorate no longer holds its politicians to the rigid standard that equates one's ability to govern with being able to keep it in one's pants; but clearly, there's a pattern of poor choices here. His poorest choice: After initially supporting President Donald Trump in 2016, he moved with the convenient political winds and his self-described mantle as a GOP moderate, into the NeverTrump category. Sanford's record of legislation and governance exhibits a performative bent that presented the appearance of conservatism and moderation, while actually lacking substance or any true "fire in the belly" on issues. According to reporting, Gov. Sanford's 106 vetoes throughout his term were overridden by a mostly Republican South Carolina legislature.
Lastly, Sanford is the one who foisted upon us Nimarata Nikki Randhawa Haley. Sanford encouraged Haley to succeed him as governor, and even campaigned for her.
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Sanford is now 64, but instead of pouring his "talents" and considerable money into younger, and more credible, GOP candidates, he licked his finger and stuck it in the air. Word on the street is that he had one of three pathways back into politics: Attempt to primary SC Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham; make a run for SC governor, which would have roundly ticked off wannabe governor and SC GOP Rep. Nancy Mace. She currently represents District 1 and is the reason the seat is up for grabs. Or jump into the 1st District congressional race, which already has 10 other Republican candidates and seven Democrats vying for the seat.
Sanford chose the latter, probably in an attempt not to tick off two very vocal and connected party incumbents.
Sanford has been out of politics since his longshot 2020 Republican presidential bid, which he mounted in order to push a conversation on the national debt and deficit.
When he dropped out of the presidential race beneath lightly falling snow in New Hampshire, he acknowledged the issue was “now out-of-season” but vowed he would continue to ”look for other ways to advance these incredibly timely and important” topics.
While the topic of fiscal sanity and the economy is not out of season, Sanford certainly is. But he's saying all the "right" words, whether he believes them or not.
“Our nation's debt is the issue that will define whether this country survives in the form we've known it," Sanford said in a press release. "It will also define how young and old fare over the years ahead, because inflation and interest rates, the value of the dollar, and our ability to afford all that goes with building and sustaining our lives will be driven by what happens next in confronting Washington's addiction to spending money we don't have on programs we can't afford."
Sanford enters the race with a sizeable war chest: to the tune of $1.3 million. He had banked this money from his prior campaigns for Congress and in his ill-fated 2020 presidential bid. This is solid proof that he finds it extremely difficult to go gently into that good night... and stay there. One Republican running for the District 1 seat called it.
Mount Pleasant Republican state Rep. Mark Smith said Sanford’s return is driven more by personal ambition than public demand.
“Mark Sanford is back — not because the Lowcountry asked for him, but because he cannot give up the spotlight,” Smith said. “South Carolinians remember exactly who he is.”
Let's hope so. In the meantime, send in the clowns.
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