From The Hill: South Carolina Republican Mark Sanford, a former governor and congressman, has filed to run for Congress, lodging a comeback bid for his old House seat in the Palmetto State.
The field is already crowded with candidates — 11 Republicans and 7 Democrats so far, according to state filings — eager to replace Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), who is leaving her seat to run for governor. Sanford filed on the last day to enter the June 9 primary contest.
Sanford represented the Lowcountry’s 1st Congressional District from 1995 to 2001 before serving as governor from 2003 to 2011, making headlines for an affair while in the governor’s mansion.
He returned to Congress for another stint from 2013 to 2019, but lost his last House reelection bid in the Republican primary to a challenger backed by President Trump. A Democrat won the seat that cycle.
Sanford, 65, a longtime critic of President Donald Trump, actually ran against Trump in the 2020 presidential race, but dropped out in 2019 after his campaign failed to gain any traction.
Now he says he has decided it’s time to get off the bleachers and step back into politics.
Sanford has made headlines more than once over infidelity scandals. Journalist Ryan Lizza has claimed that his then-fiance, fellow journalist Olivia Nuzzi, had an affair with Sanford during his 2020 presidential campaign.
Additionally, while serving as governor of South Carolina, in 2009 Sanford allegedly had an affair with a woman from Argentina. He resigned from his position as chair of the Republican Governors Association but refused to step down as governor. His wife divorced him the next year.
South Carolina state Rep. Mark Smith, one of the Republicans running for the seat, slammed Sanford, writing, “Mark Sanford is back — not because the Lowcountry asked for him, but because he cannot give up the spotlight.
“South Carolinians remember exactly who he is. A governor who went missing. A politician who turned his back on President Trump. A person who espouses term limits and runs again and again. And a candidate voters rejected the last time he was on the ballot — a race that helped hand this seat to a Democrat,” Smith warned.
Mark Sanford is back — not because the Lowcountry asked for him, but because he cannot give up the spotlight.
South Carolinians remember exactly who he is. A governor who went missing. A politician who turned his back on President Trump. A person who espouses term limits and… pic.twitter.com/z18hXSslkO
— Mark Smith (@VoteMarkSmith) March 30, 2026
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