Mark Sanford is trying yet another political comeback, this time aiming for the US Senate seat formerly held by Lindsey Graham. The ex-congressman and former South Carolina governor on Thursday jumped into an already packed Republican primary for Graham's seat, now held by the late senator's sister, Sen. Darline Graham, who has been endorsed by President Trump for a full term, Politico reports. Sanford was first elected to the House in 1994, the same year as Graham, who served four terms in the chamber before he was elected to the Senate.
Sanford, a fiscal hardliner whose governorship was derailed by an extramarital affair and who briefly challenged Trump in the 2020 GOP primary, is focusing his campaign on the national debt. In a launch video, he warned that federal borrowing is accelerating faster than the country's growth and argued that unchecked debt could "crush our economy" and "even destroy our republic." Sanford returned to the House in 2013 but lost his GOP primary in 2018 after Trump, calling Sanford "nothing but trouble," endorsed his rival.
Sanford launched a campaign for his old House seat earlier this year before shelving it to start a debt-focused nonprofit. The special GOP primary for the full six-year Senate term is set for Aug. 11. Besides Graham, Sanford's rivals include Reps. Russell Fry and Ralph Norman. A poll released before Sanford entered the race shows Norman leading with 18.6% support, followed by Graham at 16.3% and Fry at 11.7%, with more than a quarter of voters undecided, WPTE reports.
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