Former GOP Congressman Ends His Comeback Bid, Shifts Focus To Advocacy

Former Rep. Mark Sanford (R-SC) ended his brief return to the campaign trail on Wednesday, suspending his congressional comeback bid just weeks after launching it.

Instead, Sanford said he will start a nonprofit group focused on the national debt and government spending, which has been a top issue for the former lawmaker.

“After a lot of thought, I’ve concluded that the most effective way I can contribute right now is not by seeking office, but by helping build a broader movement focused on the country’s financial future,” Sanford said in a statement on Thursday.

Sanford represented South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District from 2013 until 2019, and previously served in the seat from 1995 to 2001. He also served as governor of South Carolina, gaining national attention in 2009 after he falsely claimed to be hiking the Appalachian Trail while he was in Argentina having an affair.

“I want to make a difference here, and as I began to get back into the world of politics it really began to hit me how all of Washington’s major changes have come as a result of outside pressure. Technical changes come from within Washington, but to do more of that on the debt issue is to rearrange chairs on the Titanic. It will take public pressure to bring lasting change,” he added.

“I’m grateful to everyone who offered their support,” Sanford continued. “While this isn’t the race I initially set out to run, I believe this effort has the potential to make a broader and more lasting impact.”

Sanford previously mounted a primary challenge against President Donald Trump in 2020.

He was seeking a return to South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, which is ranked “Solid Republican” by the Cook Political Report. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) currently holds the seat, but she is running in a competitive primary for governor.

Sanford’s campaign launch earlier this month garnered some scrutiny, in part because it came on the same day as then-Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) resigned from Congress amid sexual misconduct allegations.

“Launching today of all days?” CBS News political correspondent Caitlin Huey-Burns wrote on X.

Others had a more positive outlook for Sanford’s return, The Daily Wire reported.