Mark Sanford’s Comeback: Could He Run For Governor Again?

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Last week, we published a report on the perpetual political aspirations of former South Carolina governor  Mark Sanford. Once a legitimate presidential contender, Sanford has in recent years become a cautionary tale… although that’s not stopping him from weighing his options for the future.

Politics may be done with Sanford… but he is apparently not done with politics.

While Sanford has reportedly expressed an interest in serving in the U.S. Senate, it’s worth recalling he still has $1 million sitting in a bank account from his 2006 gubernatorial reelection bid.

That’s right… Sanford has been sitting on this cash for eighteen years.

Two of Sanford’s former donors – both of whom spoke with this media outlet on condition of anonymity – said they want the 64-year-old to consider using that money for its intended purpose.

“He should absolutely run for governor,” one of the donors told us.

Sanford served as governor of the Palmetto State from 2003-2011 – narrowly hanging on to his office amid a bizarre sex scandal which drew national headlines in the late spring and early summer of 2009. During his two terms in office, Sanford frequently butted heads with ranking “Republican” leaders in the S.C. General Assembly – and regularly used his bully pulpit to embarrass them for their fiscal profligacy and allegiance to the Palmetto State’s failed status quo.

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Sanford’s goals were to lower income taxes, expand parental control of education and restructure state government to empower its executive, enhance accountability and make the state more economically competitive. Noble and worthwhile objectives, to be sure, but Sanford’s inconsistent advocacy was his undoing.

Does that mean his proposals were (are) without merit? Of course not…

For example, Sanford proposed selling government-run utility Santee Cooper at a time when doing so would have netted a huge return to the state. Now, this utility has become a ticking time bomb… not to mention a taxpayer albatross.

“His policies look pretty good in retrospect, don’t they?” another of Sanford’s donors said.

“Mark was ahead of his time – or South Carolina just wasn’t ready for him at that time,” the donor added. “I think the state is ready now. I also think the number of conservatives in Columbia may have finally caught up with what you’d need for a conservative governor to hold the line on spending. If you had him in there now, it might actually bring about some real spending reform.”

Current governor Henry McMaster has been obsequious in his dealings with the legislature – a true status quo figurehead who rarely lifts his veto pen in opposition to the orgy of excess in Columbia, S.C. Thankfully, McMaster is term-limited – meaning his reign of establishment sycophancy is drawing to a close.

Who will replace him? The current frontrunners for the post are attorney general Alan Wilson and first district congresswoman Nancy Mace, however lieutenant governor Pamela Evette and Upstate businessman John Warren could emerge as formidable contenders. State senator Sean Bennett is also reportedly considering a bid, and several of his legislative colleagues are said to be putting out feelers, too.

It’s going to be a crowded field, in other words.

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RELATED | S.C. SENATOR COULD ENTER GOVERNOR’S RACE

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While questions swirl as to Sanford’s viability, some are questioning whether he is even eligible to run for governor. Article IV, Section 3 of the South Carolina Constitution states that “no person shall be elected governor for more than two successive terms.”

Sanford has served two successive terms… wouldn’t that make him ineligible to run again?

It certainly seems so, but lawmakers and constitutional experts we spoke with say this limit only applies to consecutive terms. Per that definition, Sanford would be eligible to be elected governor in 2026 (and potentially reelected in 2030).

“(The) key word is successive,” a source familiar with the language told us. “If they meant two terms period it would say just that… not successive.”

South Carolina’s current gubernatorial term limits were adopted in the November 4, 1980 election when 414,008 registered voters (55.83% of those casting ballots) assented to amend the Constitution “so as to allow the governor to be elected for two successive terms.”

Three months later, state lawmakers passed H. 2163 – which ostensibly formalized the will of the voters. This law inserted the aforementioned constitutional language which declared that “no person shall be elected governor for more than two successive terms.” Obviously, that language is different than the wording put to voters… and introduces an element of ambiguity to the equation.

Assuming Sanford were to run for governor, his opponents could conceivably file legal challenges in the hopes of blocking him from appearing on the ballot. State lawmakers could also try and rush a clarifying term limit through the legislature ahead of filing for statewide offices in March of 2026, but voters would not have a chance to weigh in on the question until the November 2026 election – rendering the matter moot insofar as it pertains to Sanford’s prospective candidacy.

So… should we brace for Luv Gov 2.0? We shall see…

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven children.

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