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Mark Sanford

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Mark Sanford
115th Governor of South Carolina
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 15, 2003
LieutenantAndré Bauer
Preceded byJames Hovis Hodges
Personal details
Born (1960-05-28) May 28, 1960 (age 65)
Florida Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Political partyRepublican
SpouseJenny Sanford
ProfessionReal Estate

Marshall Clement "Mark" Sanford, Jr. (born May 28, 1960) is an American Republican politician who has been Governor of South Carolina since 2003.

Early life

Before his senior year of high school, Sanford moved with his family to a 3000 acre Coosaw Plantation near Beaufort, South Carolina from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida where he grew up. Sanford attained the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America.[1] He received a bachelor's degree from Furman University and an MBA from Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia. Sanford moved to Sullivan's Island, South Carolina in the early 1990s with his wife Jenny and their four boys, Marshall, Landon, Bolton, and Blake.

Congress

In 1994, Sanford entered the Republican primary for the Charleston-based 1st Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. The seat had come open after four-term incumbent Arthur Ravenel gave it up to make an unsuccessful run for governor. Despite having never run for office before, he finished second in a crowded primary behind former George H. W. Bush Administration official Van Hipp, Jr. Sanford defeated Hipp in the runoff, and breezed to victory in November. He was reelected twice, both times facing only minor-party opposition.

While in Congress, Sanford was a staunch conservative (he garnered a lifetime rating of 92 from the American Conservative Union), but displayed an occasional independent streak. He often would be one of two members of Congress, along with Ron Paul, voting against bills that otherwise got unanimous support. He opposed pork barrel projects even when they benefited his own district; in 1997 he voted against a defense appropriations bill that included funds for Charleston's harbor. Seeing himself as a "citizen-legislator," he did not run for reelection in 2000, in keeping with a promise to serve only three terms in the House.[2]

During his tenure in Congress, Sanford was listed in the official House roll as "R-Charleston," even though he still lived on Sullivan's Island.

Governor of South Carolina

First term

He entered the gubernatorial election of 2002; he first defeated Lt. Gov. Bob Peeler in the Republican primary and then defeated the Democratic incumbent, Jim Hodges, in the general election, by a margin of 53% to 47% to become the 115th Governor of South Carolina. In accordance with South Carolina law, Sanford was elected separately from the state's Republican lieutenant governor, Andre Bauer.

Sanford has sometimes had a contentious relationship with the South Carolina General Assembly, even though it is controlled by his party. The Republican-led SC House of Representatives overrode 105 of Sanford's 106 budget vetoes on May 26, 2004.[3] The following day, Sanford brought live pigs into the House chamber as a visual protest against "pork projects".[4]

Sanford rejected the Assembly's entire budget on June 13 2006. Had this veto stood, the state government would have shut down on July 1. The governor explained his veto as being the only way to get the cuts he desired, and that using the line item veto would have been inadequate as well as impossible. However, in a special session the following day, both houses dismissed Sanford's call for reform by overriding his veto — effectively restoring their original budget (which indeed contained many reforms Sanford had previously called for).

Sanford professes to be a firm supporter of limited government, and many pundits have described his views as being libertarian in nature. There are several Internet based groups trying to convince him to run for president in 2008. Most recently, he has embarked on an ambitious plan to reform methods of funding the state's public education system. This would include measures such as school vouchers — aimed at introducing more competition into the school system as a means of fostering improvement. This would also allow more choice for parents who wish for their children to be educated in a religious or independent setting easier access at doing so. The plan, known as "Put Parents In Charge," would provide around $2,500 per child to parents who chose to withdraw their children from the state's public school system and instead send them to religious and other independent schools. Sanford has framed this plan as a necessary market based reform.

Sanford has also sought to reform the state's public college system. Schools such as Clemson University and the University of South Carolina have repeatedly increased tuition yearly, making them the costliest schools on average in the South.[citation needed] They claim these increases are necessary to encourage research projects and development due to the State Legislature not fully funding them. Sanford has criticized these schools as focusing too much on separately creating research institutions and not on educating the young adults of South Carolina. Sanford has suggested that they combine some programs as a means of curbing tuition increases. The schools did not respond positively to this suggestion, however, causing Sanford to remark that if they do not like the idea of change then the schools could "go private."[citation needed]

Sanford's tenure has not been free of controversy. He was criticized for missing a budget debate and was harshly criticized by a Greenville News article for delays in signing a piece of domestic violence legislation.[5] A Time Magazine article critical of Sanford, cited that some "fear his thrift has brought the state's economy to a standstill."[6]

Sanford's approval rating ranges from 47% to 55% over the past year according to Survey USA.[7]

Reelection and second term

His campaign for reelection in 2006 began by Sanford winning the June 13th Republican Primary over Oscar Lovelace, a family physician from Prosperity, with 65 percent of the vote to Lovelace's 35. His Democratic competition in the November elections was state senator Tommy Moore, who won the Democratic primary. Sanford won re-election, beating Democrat Tommy Moore by 55%-45%.[8]

On election day, Sanford was not allowed to vote in his home precinct because he did not have his voter registration card. The governor was obliged to go to a voter registration office to get a new registration card. "I hope everybody else out there is as determined to vote as I was today," he said. Sanford's driver's license had a Columbia address, but Sanford was trying to vote at his home precinct in Sullivan's Island.[9] According to NBC, Mark Sanford has declared that this will be his last campaign.[10]

Potential 2008 Candidate

In 2006, before the midterm elections, some people were discussing the possibility of Sanford running for president. He said that he would not run for President, and said that his re-election bid would be his last election, win or lose. In the early Fall of 2007, Governor Sanford has received frequent mention as a potential running mate for several candidates (notably Mitt Romney[11]. Notably, Governor Sanford has remained neutral and has not publicly aligned himself with any of the current candidates.[12]

Electoral History

South Carolina Gubernatorial Election 2002
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Mark Sanford 583,339 52.9
Democratic James Hodges (Incumbent) 518,310 47.3
South Carolina Gubernatorial Election 2006
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Mark Sanford (Incumbent) 601,868 55.1 +2.2
Democratic Tommy Moore 489,076 44.8

References

  1. ^ Townley, Alvin. Legacy of Honor: The Values and Influence of America's Eagle Scouts. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. pp. 100–101, 107. ISBN 0-312-36653-1. Retrieved 2006-12-29. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Unknown parameter |origdate= ignored (|orig-date= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ Profile of Sanford at NewsHour's coverage of '02 governor's race at http://www.pbs.org/newshour/vote2002/races/sc_sanford.html
  3. ^ http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/politics/8769969.htm
  4. ^ http://greenvilleonline.com/news/2004/05/27/2004052732244.htm
  5. ^ http://greenvilleonline.com/news/opinion/2003/07/31/2003073111332.htm
  6. ^ http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1129549,00.html
  7. ^ Survey USA poll
  8. ^ http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006/pages/results/states/SC/G/00/
  9. ^ http://www.forbes.com/business/services/feeds/ap/2006/11/07/ap3152452.html
  10. ^ http://www.nbc26news.com/news/local/4582991.html
  11. ^ http://www.gay.com/news/article.html?2007/03/30/2
  12. ^ http://www.postpolitical.com/ppblog/category/elections/presidential-2008/mark-sanford/
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U.S. Representative (1994–2006)

Template:Incumbent succession box
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from South Carolina's 1st congressional district
1995–2001 		Succeeded by
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