Stepping away from Virginia for a moment…
Mark Sanford, the former South Carolina governor and congressman whose infamous “hike on the Appalachian Trail” destroyed both his political ambitions and his marriage is making a comeback. Sanford finished first out of a very crowed field of candidates in a special election to fill the first congressional district seat once occupied by now-Sen. Tim Scott (and long before that, by Sanford himself). There will be a run-off election in two weeks between Sanford and second place finisher Curtis Bostic.
Give South Carolina its due: it’s politics are more colorful, and often more brutal, than anything Virginia has managed since Bacon’s Rebellion. By giving Sanford an early nod, it’s possible the low country may yet show that no matter how badly, how publicly, and how weirdly one screws up, a return to the top is not out of the question.
I spoke with Sanford at the GOP convention in Tampa last August. I asked him then whether he intended to run for office and he hedged. Now we know the answer — he’s not just running, he may very well win.
