Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R), a once-rising star whose career was derailed in a bizarre personal scandal, is quietly discussing a potential comeback bid in 2026.
Four sources with knowledge of Sanford’s conversations say he has been speaking with potential donors about a bid to replace Gov. Henry McMaster (R), who faces term limits.
Sanford has not made public comments about the race, but two of the sources, one of whom is close to Sanford, pointed to a state-level campaign account that still has $1 million left over.
Sanford did not respond to an email sent to an address on his personal website.
Though no one has yet to jump into the race to replace McMaster, Sanford would not clear what is expected to be a lively Republican primary. Attorney General Alan Wilson (R) and U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R), who holds the congressional seat Sanford once held, are both considering bids.
“The rumors are circulating in political circles in South Carolina at a low level,” one Republican lawmaker, who asked not to be identified, said in an email. “I don’t believe there is much interest in Sanford 2.0. His fussin’ and feudin’ days with the legislature are in the rearview mirror and would best stay there.”
Sanford got his start in politics in 1994, when he first won election as part of Newt Gingrich’s Republican revolution. He served three terms before quitting to run for governor in 2002, a race in which he ousted incumbent Jim Hodges (D).
About two years after his 2006 re-election, Sanford disappeared for a week. His family and the State Law Enforcement Division, which provides security for governors, did not know where he was, though he had told staff he would be hiking the Appalachian Trail.
But a reporter at The State newspaper in Columbia was waiting when Sanford got off a plane from Argentina at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. It emerged that Sanford had been with a paramour in Buenos Aires.
Sanford refused to resign. The state legislature censured Sanford, though an effort to impeach him fell flat.
His career got a reboot in 2013, when his successor, then-Gov. Nikki Haley (R), appointed U.S. Rep. Tim Scott (R) to a vacant seat in the U.S. Senate. Sanford beat back a field of 15 other candidates, then won a runoff election, to fill Scott’s seat. He served two full terms before losing a bid for renomination in 2018, after he ran afoul of President Trump.