Sanford, the Republican former South Carolina congressman and governor, called it a reset—ending his latest bid for public office and turning to a new effort outside elected office, according to a Thursday interview with The Associated Press.
In the conversation, Sanford said he was shuttering his campaign about a month after launching it and pointed to a desire to spend more time with his family as part of his decision. He also described the move as a way to concentrate on combating the national debt and deficit, which he has treated as his signature issue.
Sanford’s choice comes as he sought to reclaim his former coastal district, a seat in South Carolina’s 1st District, and it followed his entry into a Republican primary on the last day of candidate filing when the race already included other contenders. In remarks to the AP, he said he had been receiving “a warm reception” as he campaigned, including at county GOP meetings and candidate forums.
Sanford told the AP that he ultimately decided that in Congress he would not be able to singularly focus on debt-related issues. He said he expects his effort from the outside to have a better chance of keeping attention on the topic, framing it as an impact question about how he could “elevat[e] that issue” more effectively than he could while pursuing office.
“It’s a pivot comes after,” in the sense that Sanford’s prior political campaigns shaped how he approached this one, including his long history of entering crowded GOP primaries. The AP described how Sanford first broke through politically by running as an outsider with little name recognition in 1994, finishing second in a Republican primary before winning a runoff and later winning a general election.
Sanford also previously won the governor’s mansion after navigating another crowded primary field, and the AP said his eight years as governor became overshadowed by an affair that led to an impeachment inquiry and calls for him to resign. The AP reported that Sanford’s wife at the time, Jenny Sanford, moved out of the governor’s mansion, later relocated with their four sons, and later sued him for divorce.
The AP also said that in a 2013 special election, Sanford returned to his old congressional seat, winning a primary and runoff against 15 other candidates, and then won two more full terms before losing in 2018 to a GOP challenger backed by President Donald Trump. A year after his primary loss, the AP reported, Sanford reemerged with a long-shot challenge to Trump, later dropping out just ahead of the New Hampshire primary.
For this latest bid, Sanford said the campaign was tied to the approach he saw as more attainable for his debt agenda: building a grassroots organization. What Sanford said he hopes to do, he told the AP, is to “build a grassroots organization — start small,” while drawing on his network of friends and contacts that he said could help advance the effort.
In setting up the new organization, Sanford said the effort will be centered in South Carolina and that he plans to use more than $1.3 million that remained in his federal account after he left Congress in 2019. He said that depleting those resources is also a signal that he is moving away from running for office himself.
Sanford said he does not rule out a future political return, telling the AP: “Look, if there’s ever a guy who would say, ‘Never say never,’ it’s me.” He added, “But I think, realistically, yeah, and it’s recognition of that being the case.” The AP said Sanford’s decision was first reported by The Post and Courier of Charleston.