For ex-Rep. Mark Sanford, another run at Congress

Daniela Altimari, CQ-Roll Call on Mar 30, 2026

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WASHINGTON — South Carolina Republican Mark Sanford, a former governor and congressman — and briefly a long-shot presidential contender — is seeking another comeback, joining the crowded field running for the open Charleston-area seat he held for five full terms.

Sanford filed his candidacy for the 1st District hours before Monday’s deadline. News of his decision to run was first reported by The Post and Courier and The State.

From 1995 through 2001, and then again from 2013 through 2019, Sanford served in Congress. He led the Palmetto State as governor from 2003 to 2011, gaining national notoriety in 2009 after revelations that he fled to Argentina to meet a woman with whom he had been having an affair. Sanford’s office initially said he was hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, who has held the 1st District seat since 2021, announced last year that she is running for governor.

At least 10 other Republicans and four Democrats will compete in the June 9 party primaries.

Sanford told The Post and Courier he was running to raise the alarm on the rising national debt and that “people have been telling me it’s time to get off the bleachers.”

His entry into the race was greeted with disdain by at least one of his Republican primary opponents. “Mark Sanford is back — not because the Lowcountry asked for him, but because he cannot give up the spotlight,’’ state Rep. Mark Smith posted on social media. “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.”

Sanford was first elected to the House in 1994. After serving three terms, he later served as governor for eight years. But his tenure was marred by his 2009 disappearance for several days, and the phrase “hiking the Appalachian Trail” became a political punchline.

He launched an earlier comeback bid for his old House seat, winning in a 2013 special election after then-Rep. Tim Scott was appointed to the Senate. Sanford lost to a pro-Trump primary challenger in 2018.

When Sanford launched a presidential campaign in September of 2019, he positioned himself as a deficit hawk and a counter to Donald Trump. But he exited the race just two months later, saying impeachment proceedings against Trump dominated public attention and made it difficult to draw focus to his message of fiscal restraint.