Sanford enters GOP primary race

Mark Sanford announced Sunday he will challenge President Donald Trump in next year’s Republican primaries. The former congressman and governor from South Carolina joins former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld and former U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh of Illinois as GOP hopefuls running against the president.

Why is Sanford running? He believes the Republican Party has strayed from its principles under Trump. Sanford, who is well-known for fiscal conservatism, said his platform would focus on curbing reckless overspending and tackling the national debt. On Monday, Trump mocked his newest opponent on Twitter by bringing up an extramarital affair Sanford had while governor. Sanford said during his announcement on Fox News Sunday that voters forgave him for that, which they showed by electing him to Congress in 2013.

Dig deeper: In 2009, Sanford vanished for five days on a trip to Argentina with his mistress. His staff told news media he was hiking the Appalachian Trail. Read Jamie Dean’s report on the fallout from the scandal from the WORLD archives.