Opposites Attack: Sanford and Colbert Busch Two Weeks Into SC1 Fight

Tuesday marks two weeks into the general election race in South Carolina’s First Congressional District race and for two weeks Mark Sanford has been getting pummeled by Democrats.

That Sanford is getting slammed with such frequency is not a surprise to anyone who follows politics. From the time he entered the race, it was only a matter of time before the transgressions of June 2009 were brought up by his opponents.

What has been surprising has been his campaign’s response—or the quietness of it. While Colbert Busch has been running television ads and Sanford has not advertised in either medium.

Various followers of the South Carolina political scene were at a loss to explain the strategy, citing Sanford’s notoriously thrifty approach as a possible explanation. Some others assumed that the strategy could be due to a shortage of donations. But a source close to the Sanford campaign said the last two weeks of fundraising have gone “very well.”

Sources close to the Sanford campaign noted that Colbert Busch faced only token opposition in her primary, and was not required to spend as much money. Sanford, meanwhile, had to compete against 15 others in a primary and then make it through a run-off. Had they so desired, donors could have given the maximum amount in both the primary and the run-off. They can also give the maximum in the general election.

Sanford was attacked on character grounds by his fellow Republicans in the primary, but those ads pale in comparison to the ones by Democrats.

Aside from the money she is raising on her own, Colbert Busch has been receiving help from PACs and other surrogates. An ad from ProjectXXAct was released last week. The South Carolina Democratic Party (SCDP) put together a series of videos that remind SC1 voters of what they won’t be forgetting anytime soon. Since April 3, the day after Sanford won the Republican primary the SCDP has released a “Daily Dose of Republicans on Sanford.” In the releases, leading Palmetto State Republicans, from Nikki Haley to Tim Scott to Jim DeMint to Karen Floyd are quoted as being critical of Sanford.

On Twitter the #StopSanford and #Trustwomen hashtags have been created in response to the Sanford-Colbert Busch race.

As if that’s not enough, sources tell Patch that a spot funded by a PAC associated with Rep. Nancy Pelosi will be coming out today.

So far, the only support Sanford seems to be getting is from National Republican Congressional Committee, which has released a pair of innovative advertisements. One is a spoof of the game Words With Friends and the other is a use of the video app The Vine, which is thought to be the first of its kind.

Sanford’s own team has been consistently pounding away at Colbert Busch on a few fronts. It’s been critical of her association with unions, and for only appearing in one debate.

The question is, will any of this matter? Considering that polls from both campaigns show the race a statistical dead heat, every vote counts, so, "yes." And with three weeks left until Election Day, the media onslaught is only expected to increase.

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