|party=[[Republican]]
|spouse=Jenny Sanford (div.)
|religion=[[Episcopalian]]
|offices=
{{Officeholder/governor
'''Mark Sanford''' (born 1960) is a former [[Republican]] Governor of [[South Carolina]]. A wealthy plantation owner from Florida, he was a real estate speculator in New York City before moving to Charleston in 1992. He was elected to Congress in 1994 and re-elected twice. He was elected governor in 2002 and reelected in 2006 in campaign managed by his wife. He gets along poorly with the Republican legislature, which overrode 95% of his hundreds of vetoes and for six years has rejected all his major proposals. New York bond agencies lowered the state's bond rating because of the state's inability to come to terms on the budget. Sanford insists his highest priority is paying off the state's bondholders, while Republicans want economic growth and more jobs. Nevertheless Sanford made a rhetorical appeal to conservatives and had himself touted as a possible running mate for [[John McCain]] in the 2008 U.S. Presidential election. He once had a reputation as an outspoken conservative, but now he is primarily the butt of jokes and ridicule. He is married with four sons, but his wife has separated after his notorious love affairs.
His political career has ended, with Republicans and conservatives demanding his resignation as the ethnic inquiry and impeachment process move forward, leaving only the question of how much longer he will bedevil the state of South Carolina. <ref>http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/campaign-2008/2008/05/22/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-mark-sanford.html</ref>
==Stimulus Funds==
Sanford admitted June 24, 2009, to having an extra-marital affair and covering up a secret trip to visit his mistress in [[Argentina]]. He made the admission at a press conference meant to clear up a mysterious week-long absence where his staff initially explained by saying the Governor was hiking the Appalachian Trail.
"I've let down a lot of people. That's the bottom line," Sanford said. "I've been unfaithful to my wife." He said he is resigning as chairman of the Republican Governors Association (RGA). The RGA announced shortly afterward that [[Mississippi]] Gov. [[Haley Barbour]] would assume Sanford's RGA duties. 60 Republicans in the legislature demanded his resignation, but unlike New York governor [{[Eliot Spitzer]] who resigned in 2008 when his sex scandals were revealed, Sanford decided to keep his salary coming.
== Multiple Scandals ==