Former SC Gov. Mark Sanford enters GOP primary for Lindsey Graham's Senate seat

By: Daniela Altimari

Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, here as a congressman at a news conference in Washington in 2017, is running for Senate. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford on Thursday entered the growing Republican special election primary for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s seat.

Sanford, who served two separate stints in the House representing South Carolina’s 1st District, briefly ran for his old Charleston-centered seat this year before dropping out to establish a nonprofit focused on the national debt.

In his launch video, Sanford cited addressing rising government spending as a reason for his run.

“Our ability to afford things, inflation and the way people struggle to build a life are but symptoms of spending beyond our means as a country. We’re at a tipping point.”

The Race to Replace Lindsey Graham

Sanford is the latest entrant into the race to replace Graham on the ballot. The longtime senator was running for a fifth term when he died unexpectedly earlier this month from an aortic tear caused by cardiovascular disease, according to preliminary medical findings. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Graham’s sister, Darline Graham, to fill the seat for the rest of his term, which expires early next year.

Darline Graham announced this week that she would seek a full Senate term, after President Donald Trump encouraged her to run. However, her candidacy with the president’s support has not deterred other Republicans from entering the race.

Other GOP candidates include:

• Russell Fry — U.S. House member
• Ralph Norman — U.S. House member
• Mark Lynch — businessman who lost last month’s primary to Lindsey Graham
• Duke Buckner — attorney and former House hopeful

Key Dates

The filing period ends Tuesday, the same day as Graham’s funeral in Washington.

After that, candidates will sprint to an Aug. 11 primary, with a runoff election between the top two finishers scheduled for Aug. 25 if no one receives a majority of the vote. The winner will face the Democratic nominee, pediatrician Annie Andrews, in November.

Sanford’s Political Profile

While several other GOP candidates, including Fry and Norman, have aligned themselves with Trump’s MAGA movement, Sanford occupies a different lane in Republican politics. His brand of conservatism is rooted in reining in spending and addressing the deficit.

From 1995 through 2001, and then again from 2013 through 2019, Sanford represented South Carolina’s 1st District in the House. In between, he led the Palmetto State as governor for two terms, gaining national notoriety in 2009 following revelations that he secretly traveled to Argentina to meet a woman with whom he’d been having an affair. Sanford’s office initially said he was hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Sanford launched a presidential...