Former Gov. Mark Sanford completed the trail to political redemption Tuesday with a win over Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch to reclaim his old seat in Congress.
Sanford defeated Colbert Busch 54 percent to 45 percent, according to full unofficial results. Turnout was heavier than expected, with about 32 percent of the district’s 455,702 registered voters casting ballots.
Sanford, who has never lost an election, returns to the 1st District seat he held for three terms from 1995-2001. It’s a remarkable comeback for a man many pundits had written off after his highly publicized affair with an Argentine mistress made him the source of national ridicule in 2009.
I understand its his intention to use every recess to walk the Appalachian Trail all the way to Argentina. Way to go, South Carolina – you have a prize.
F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote: “There are no second acts in American life.” That has to be the most counter-factual sociological observation ever made (Richard Nixon, anyone? Don Imus? Al Michaels? Donald Trump? and now…Mark Sanford? And, I predict, soon…Elliot Spitzer?).
Americans forgive everyone who apologises, no matter what the nature of the person’s trespass.
If Sanford’s opponent was a conservative, rather than a liberal who is the sister of leftist comedian Stephen Colbert, his political life might not have revived.
He won a hotly contested Republican primary with lots of other choices. This is revolting. Kinda makes me glad I severed my ties with the GOP a few years ago.