Mark Sanford filed Monday to run again in South Carolina’s Republican primary for the 1st District U.S. House seat, hours before the filing deadline for the June 9 contest, according to the Associated Press. The AP report said the former congressman and governor, who has held the seat twice, wants to return to Congress once more.
Sanford, 65, emerged in politics as an outsider in a 1994 race for the open 1st District seat, finishing second in the primary before winning the runoff. He then served in the House for six years before pursuing the governorship, pushing through a crowded Republican primary and winning the office.
His governorship was later overshadowed by a disappearance in 2009 that became known publicly through his reference to the Appalachian Trail, the AP reported. The AP said Sanford faced an impeachment inquiry and calls to resign during his time as governor, and also reported that his family later moved out of the governor’s mansion in Columbia and pursued divorce proceedings.
In 2013, the AP said, Sanford returned to the U.S. House when he won a special election for the seat—one that opened after then-Gov. Nikki Haley appointed Tim Scott to the U.S. Senate. The AP reported that Sanford then won two more full terms before losing the seat in 2018 to a Republican challenger backed by President Donald Trump. The seat later flipped to Democratic hands in 2018, and the AP said it was won back in 2020 by Rep. Nancy Mace, who is now running for governor this year.
Sanford’s campaign bid also follows earlier attempts at national office. The AP said Sanford briefly ran for president in 2020, challenging Trump for the Republican nomination and describing the effort as a “long shot” focused on warnings about the national debt, before dropping out just ahead of the New Hampshire primary.
For the June primary, the AP reported that Sanford has retained substantial political funds since leaving the House, including more than $1.3 million in a federal campaign account and more than $1 million in a South Carolina state campaign account. The AP said he can use those balances in a race that the report described as crowded, including 10 other Republicans and additional candidates from other parties and third-party groups.
Sanford did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on Monday, the AP reported. An email release on the candidacy, the AP said, framed the bid around the national debt; the report said Sanford described himself as seeking a district representative “who is an advocate for financial sanity that has been lost in Washington for all too long.”