SC1 Candidate Profile: Mark Sanford

Name: Mark Sanford

Town of Residence: Charleston

Current/Most Recent Job Title: Commercial Real Estate 

Employer: Self-employed

Previously Held Public Office: Governor 2003-2011; House of Representatives 1995-2001.

See what the other GOP candidates said here.

Biggest Issue Facing District 1: Debt and deficits.

Sanford Solution: 

I believe debt and deficits are the most important issue facing the First District. I am running for Congress because I believe that if we don’t get our financial house in order there will be dire consequences for the American dollar, everything we may have saved over the course of our respective lives - and most of all real harm to the American way of life and the opportunities that it has historically afforded. I believe we are at a tipping point as a civilization, and if we linger much longer on our present course, math and the power of compounding interest will take us to the proverbial point of no return. We are closer to that point than most people realize, and I would like to take my experiences in Congress, the Governorship, my way up and my way down and apply it to what I think will prove to be one of the great inflection points of our civilization.

2nd Biggest Issue Facing District 1: Jobs and the economy.

Sanford Solution: 

Jobs and the economy comes right behind debt and deficits as a key issue. As a former governor I think I would be in a unique position to help in job creation and economic recruitment to the area. In fact as governor, our administration saw more capital investment come to South Carolina - $24 billion – than during any other eight year period in South Carolina history. This included Boeing’s $750 million investment in North Charleston. I would work to build on this in Congress, whether as an advocate for the Port or as a voice for small business. Legislatively, I believe we need a fairer, flatter, simpler tax structure, as well as a more predictable regulatory environment.

3rd Biggest Issue Facing District 1: Quality of Life in the Lowcountry.

Sanford Solution: 

I think we live in a unique part of the world. Accordingly, we have an obligation to look for ways to balance significant growth with preserving the look and feel of the Low Country. That special quality of life is what has kept so many of us here, and invited so many more to come. The focus I put into the job before led to the results I’d work to replicate, for instance during my governorship we protected more land than any other governorship in South Carolina history.

Why are you the best person to represent District 1 in Washington, DC?

I believe I bring a unique perspective as both a former member of Congress and Governor of South Carolina. While in Congress, both the National Taxpayers Union and Citizens Against Government Waste rated me #1 amongst all my peers for my efforts to reduce government spending and taxation. The CATO Institute rated me as the most financially conservative Governor in America, calling me “a staunch supporter of spending restraint and pro-growth tax reforms.”

I was the first Governor in America to formally reject federal stimulus funds. As a former member of Congress I would leap frog ahead of 60% of the Republican caucus in seniority because seniority is retained. In addition to personally knowing many in leadership, this would substantially enhance my committee assignments which would directly affect the level of voice the 1st district gets in Washington.

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