Mark Sanford is back — and once again running headlong into President Donald Trump’s political machine.
The former South Carolina governor and congressman announced Thursday that he is seeking the Senate seat previously held by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, joining a rapidly expanding Republican field despite Trump already throwing his support behind Graham’s sister, Sen. Darline Graham.
“Our country is at a financial tipping point, and I can’t sit on the sidelines while Washington adds a trillion dollars to the debt every 100 days,” Sanford wrote on social media.
“I’ve spent my entire time in politics fighting this fight, and I’m running for U.S. Senate to keep the American dream alive for our sons, my grandson, and those you love. Join us,” he added.
Sanford’s announcement included a video in which he reflected on Graham’s death and described the loss as a reminder of “how short and precious life is.”
“My own dad got Lou Gehrig’s disease when I was in high school, and this notion of all of us having just a little time has always hit me hard,” Sanford said. “We’re stewards of our lives and the things that we love for just a short time.”
The campaign gives Sanford another opportunity to revive his longtime crusade against federal spending — but it also places him squarely against Trump’s preferred candidate.
Trump announced last week that Darline Graham would receive his “Complete and Total Endorsement” if she entered the race, enthusiastically declaring: “RUN, DARLINE, RUN!” (RELATED: Trump Speaks Out On Potential Lindsey Graham Replacement)
Graham, who was appointed by Gov. Henry McMaster to temporarily fill her brother’s seat, confirmed during an interview with Sean Hannity that she would seek the full six-year term. Her appointment made her the first woman to represent South Carolina in the Senate.
Sanford’s entry creates an especially combustible matchup because he and Trump have already fought — and Trump won.
Sanford repeatedly criticized Trump during his first administration, drawing the president’s wrath while seeking another House term in 2018. Just hours before polls closed in that year’s Republican primary, Trump endorsed Sanford’s opponent, state Rep. Katie Arrington, and declared that Sanford had been “very unhelpful” and was “better off in Argentina.”
The jab referenced Sanford’s infamous 2009 disappearance while serving as governor. His staff initially said he was hiking the Appalachian Trail, but Sanford later acknowledged that he had traveled to Argentina to visit a woman with whom he was having an affair.
Arrington narrowly defeated Sanford, handing him his first loss in a South Carolina election. Arrington had spent much of the campaign portraying Sanford as a “Never Trumper.”
Sanford returned the challenge the following year by launching a long-shot campaign against Trump for the 2020 Republican presidential nomination. That effort, which also focused heavily on the national debt, lasted roughly two months before Sanford pulled the plug after struggling to gain traction.
His latest campaign also represents a reversal from the position he took only months ago.
Sanford briefly launched a campaign for his former House seat earlier this year but withdrew in April, saying “the most effective way I can contribute right now is not by seeking office.” At the time, he said he planned to build a nonprofit and grassroots movement focused on the country’s growing debt.
Graham’s death, however, opened a rare statewide opportunity — and Sanford is now arguing that Washington’s spending binge demands his return to elected office.
The 66-year-old served as South Carolina’s governor from 2003 through 2011. He represented the state’s 1st Congressional District from 1995 through 2001 and again from 2013 through 2019.
Sanford joins a Republican field that already includes Graham, Reps. Russell Fry and Ralph Norman, businessman Mark Lynch and attorney Duke Buckner. Norman has secured support from several prominent conservatives, including Rep. Nancy Mace and former Sen. Jim DeMint, underscoring the resistance to Trump’s effort to consolidate the party behind Graham.
The compressed campaign leaves Sanford little time to rebuild his political organization or convince Republican voters to look past his long-running feud with Trump.
Candidate filing closes July 28. The special Republican primary will be held Aug. 11, followed by an Aug. 25 runoff if no candidate receives a majority. The winner will advance to the Nov. 3 general election against Democrat nominee Annie Andrews, according to the South Carolina Election Commission.
