It’s official: former South Carolina Governor and Representative Mark Sanford is running for President. The surprise came just hours after the South Carolina Republican Party announced it had cancelled the Republican Presidential Primary that was scheduled for February 2020. While it seems the GOP has decided that the fair and free election that South Carolina rightfully deserves has a price tag, we feel differently. Mark Sanford is not only deserving of his name on the ballot this February, but he should also be considered a serious contender in this race.
A disgraced former Governor and Representative ousted by his own party does not seem like the first choice for the next President of the United States. Some would argue he is not even a second or third or fourth or fifth choice. However, Sanford would bring something new to the race that it has been missing: a complete lack of self-awareness.
For too long, we’ve had a president who is hyper-aware of his image and how his base perceives him. Mark Sanford’s decision to run for president demonstrates a dissociation of identity – similar to his dissociation from the role of South Carolina Governor in June of 2009. Sanford’s district just proved to him that the incumbency advantage has its limits, having voted Katie Arrington to take on and subsequently lose to Representative Joe Cunningham. Nevertheless, he persists, and that is exactly the kind of blind determination we need in the White House.
Furthermore, our current president has forever changed our politics. He has spewed racist, xenophobic, misogynistic, and just plain hateful speech at the hope of poking awake the underbelly of the Republican Party. Our media is plagued with hate crimes and casual discrimination against those his supporters have deemed “other,” but this was not always the case. For decades, the GOP has been able to sneak past the guards of political correctness by disguising their hate as disagreement and their violence as bureaucracy, but Trump has inspired something new and vile in its members. Luckily, Mark Sanford is not able to inspire anyone.
Finally, there are negative perceptions surrounding lame-duck presidents. Defined as those who are beginning the transition of power following an election, these presidents are perceived as less influential, less motivated, less inspiring. Mark Sanford is already all of those things. It’s hard to do anything wrong when you are not doing anything at all. Americans constantly express their desire for a president they do not have to regularly worry about or hear from every day. If elected, Mark Sanford would certainly be a president.
The South Carolina Republican Party decided to cancel its presidential primary under the belief that it would be too costly to hold. But what costs more: a couple of voting machines or risking the integrity of our elections? Is the price of ensuring the civic rights of South Carolinians too high for the GOP to foot the bill? Are Republicans that scared of a little competition – from Mark Sanford of all people? If you answered yes to these questions, you would be correct. However, you are not entitled to compensation – it is simply too costly for the Republican Party.