Mark Sanford, Years After Scandal, Aims for a Comeback to Congress NYT | Top Stories Reid J. Epstein 31 March 2026 at 06:05 The former South Carolina governor and congressman filed papers to run for his old seat, six years after running for president and nearly two decades after a high-profile affair. © Joshua Boucher/The State — Tribune News Service, via Getty ImagesMark Sanford in 2023. His star has risen and fallen in Republican politics over the years.