Mark Sanford Pitches Fiscal Conservatism in South Carolina Senate Bid

The former governor and congressman enters a crowded Republican field.

Mark Sanford announces his entry into the race via video.

Former South Carolina governor Mark Sanford entered the Republican primary Thursday for the Senate seat held by Lindsey Graham — a longtime ally and godfather to Mr. Sanford’s youngest son — and his former chief of staff tells The Washington Star the out-of-office politician has a real chance of success.

Mr. Sanford joins a crowded field with President Trump-backed incumbent Darline Graham — who dropped her married name professionally on being sworn in last week to serve her late brother’s remaining term — Congressmen Ralph Norman and Russell Fry, and businessman Mark Lynch.

“I’m now a dad and a granddad, and I’m worried for our children because for the first time, America is borrowing from the future faster than we’re building it,” Mr. Sanford said in a video posted to social media. “We’ll add about a trillion dollars to the national debt over the next 100 days, and if left unaddressed, that debt will crush our economy. It’ll wipe out our savings, and it could even destroy our republic.”

Mr. Sanford, who also represented the state’s First District in the U.S. House of Representatives, is most noted politically for his fiscal conservatism and a 2020 presidential-nomination effort that ended before the Iowa caucuses. He filed March 30 to run for the House seat again but dropped out a month later, retaining a $1.3 million campaign war chest.

The special primary will be held August 11, with a runoff August 25 if necessary.

“It’s a sprint, and he has name recognition. That could get him to the runoff,” Scott English, who served as Mr. Sanford’s chief of staff during his governorship, tells the Star.

Personally, Mr. Sanford is often remembered for the 2009 “hiking the Appalachian Trail” scandal, when he disappeared to Argentina during an affair with Maria Belén Chapur. His wife Jenny Sanford divorced him the next year. He got engaged to Ms. Chapur in 2012, but the romance ended in 2014.

Journalist Ryan Lizza late last year alleged Mr. Sanford had an affair with reporter Olivia Nuzzi while she covered his 2020 presidential campaign. A New York City tabloid published an aborted note in which Ms. Nuzzi allegedly wrote, “Mark, I am sorry. I can’t say that I wish I hadn’t touched you, hadn’t,” which led to Mr. Lizza, then her live-in boyfriend, discovering the relationship.

Neither Ms. Nuzzi nor Mr. Sanford ever confirmed the relationship. Her memoir, “American Canto,” alludes to having had an improper relationship with a person she covered but didn’t name the individual.

The Washington Star did not immediately hear back from Mr. Sanford for comment on his senatorial campaign.

“One of the messages that’s been missing in the last few election cycles is runaway spending and the national debt in Washington,” Mr. English says. “I hope Sanford can use his platform to raise this issue and get the debate going again.”