Republican Mark Sanford, the former governor and congressman of South Carolina, is abandoning his latest bid to retake his former seat, a month after declaring his candidacy.
Instead, he will launch a nonprofit dedicated to solving the nation’s debt problem.
Sanford, 65, told The Associated Press on Thursday that he would stop campaigning to focus on addressing the debt and deficit.
“After careful consideration, I have concluded that the most effective way I can contribute now is not to seek public office, but to help build a broader movement focused on the nation’s financial future,” he said in a press release. “The trajectory of debt and deficits is not a Republican or Democratic problem, it is an American problem. This is an issue that will require sustained grassroots pressure for change to occur.”
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Former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford appears in the 2019 photo. A political journalist’s ex-fiancé has accused him of an alleged love affair.
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The organization will operate as a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) and will focus on building a national grassroots network aimed at changing the current financial course of the country. Sanford noted that with the birth of his first grandchild on the way, he also realized he wanted to spend more time with his family.
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The decision comes a month after Sanford entered the primary on the final filing day to retake his former House seat.
Sanford served three terms in Congress before serving as governor of South Carolina. However, his tenure was overshadowed by a scandal in 2009 when he disappeared to Argentina to visit his mistress; at the time, neither his staff nor his wife knew his whereabouts.
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Governor Mark Sanford speaks at the 2019 Political Convention at Music City Center in Nashville, Tennessee, on October 26, 2019. On Thursday, Sanford announced he was ending his campaign for Congress and instead launching a nonprofit to address the national debt.
While Sanford escaped impeachment and resisted calls to resign, his wife, Jeanne Sanford, moved out of the governor’s mansion into the family’s oceanfront home with their four sons and later sued for divorce.
Sanford eventually regained his seat in a 2013 special election, defeating 15 other candidates. He served two full terms before losing the 2018 primary to a Republican challenger backed by then-President Donald Trump.
His former seat is currently held by Republican Rep. Nancy Mace.
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As of Tuesday, the national debt topped $38.9 trillion, according to the Treasury Department. This includes more than $31.2 trillion in debt held by the public and more than $7.6 trillion in debt held within the government.
“The shaky financial course of our country led me to this campaign, and it energized my political career,” Sanford said. “I wanted to make a difference here, and when I started to get back into the political world, I really started to realize that all the big changes in Washington were the result of outside pressure.”
Original source of the article: Mark Sanford drops out of House race after a month, saying fighting national debt is best done outside politics
