Gov. Sanford admits affair, possible impacts

Today in South Carolina's capital of Columbia, news came out of a press conference held by Governor Mark Sanford that the governor has been embroiled in an extramarital affair for over a year. Not only is this news thoroughly shocking and appalling, but it also begs the question, how will this affect the state of the Republican Party in South Carolina, and the national picture for the Republican Primary in 2012.

Up until now, Sanford has been a semi-presidential candidate, appearing on the cable circuit for months, and making plenty of headlines for attempting to reject $700,000,000 in federal stimulus money. This attempt resulted in Sanford being overridden by the Republican dominated state houses and the state's courts, and it also dipped his approval ratings into the mid 30s. Even with this, Sanford's built a reputation as a governor deeply bound to principle, and dedicated to eliminating pork barrel waste and wasteful government spending in his state. With the threat of inflation forever increasing in 2012, and poll numbers showing increasing opposition to the Obama spending plans, Sanford seemed to be building a formidable, maverick candidacy for President in 2012.

Now, this is all gone. I'd hope Gov. Sanford is able to reconcile with his wife and family, and move on from this horrific scandal, but it would appropriate for the governor to resign at this point. Republicans dominate in South Carolina, as they hold seven out of the eight statewide positions. Even with this, there has been formidable disunity amongst the party in the state this year. The Governor has feuded with his fellow party over stimulus money and the state's budget, and in the past, he's even brought live pigs to the Capitol in protest of 'pork barrel' spending. One must ask how contradicting Republican voices, and noise in the peanut gallery (State Sen. Jake Knotts, and many other Republican state house politicians are frequent critics) will affect the party's chances in the 2010 gubernatorial election. Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, who's also been a Sanford critic, is, in my opinion, not the front runner right now, as everyone from the attorney general to numerous congressmen are looking to run. This is still a winnable state for Democrats. Barack Obama garnered 44 percent of the vote here, the state has a sizable African American population, and Gov. Sanford ran close races against Democratic opposition in 2002 and 2006. I think a conservative Democrat with appeal to some of the state's usually Republican voters could have a real chance in this race in 2010, even in South Carolina.

Finally, one must also ask, how in the world could Sanford think to do this, and not expect to be caught? He has not only done fatal damage to his family, but to his political career, and he's also further associated the Republican brand with scandals such as the Ensign affair. This type of behavior is nothing strong of horrendous and condemable, and it is a truly dissapointing day for South Carolinians, the Sanford family, and our party.