Mount Pleasant Magazine Nov/Dec 2019

52 www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.BestOfMP.com | www.ReadMPM.com feature M ark Sanford has been a two-term governor of South Carolina, twice represented the state’s 1st District in the U.S. House for six consecutive years — 12 total — and taught politics at the University of Chicago for a semester. Now he’s running for the highest office in the land. Well, sort of. “I’m not delusional about my prospects,” said Sanford in mid-September, as he prepared to leave for campaign visits to New Hampshire and Iowa. He’s well aware of the rarity of a sitting president losing in his party’s primary, and he knows Donald Trump remains popular among the voters who will choose the Republican nominee for president. And though he’s not hopeful about the possibility that he will be moving from Mount Pleasant to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, D.C., in January 2021, he is optimistic that his candidacy has the potential to have an effect on the national conversation about two of his favorite subjects: the national debt and the national deficit. “Running for president gives you a microphone,” said Sanford. “Every challenger in a sitting president’s own party loses in the primary. However, in many cases, the losers are able to change the debate.” A spotlight on government spending more than it takes in is exactly what Sanford seeks. A fiscal conservative throughout his political career, he likened the federal government’s spending habits to the storms that regularly threaten the Carolina coast and pointed out that candidates across the political spectrum are ignoring impending disaster. He said President Trump’s budget is BY BRIAN SHERMAN Photos by Michelle Fiorello. Long Shot Candidate Sanford Targets the Debt and the Deficit