--- title: Former Rep. Sanford Launches GOP Primary Challenge to Trump description: Former SC governor and congressman Mark Sanford announced on Sunday that he will challenge Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential race. canonical: https://time.com/5671748/mark-sanford-primary-challenge-trump/ author: Alejandro de la Garza article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-09-08T15:00:11.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T07:20:03.706Z article:section: Politics og:title: Former South Carolina Rep. Mark Sanford Launches GOP Primary Challenge Against President Trump og:description: "I believe what's happening in Washington needs challenging" og:url: https://time.com/5671748/mark-sanford-primary-challenge-trump/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt46fd4dd3cb8f29ae/698a0283656a3f3242bd8e23/mark-sanford-nbc-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Meet the Press - Season 72 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Former South Carolina Rep. Mark Sanford Launches GOP Primary Challenge Against President Trump twitter:description: "I believe what's happening in Washington needs challenging" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt46fd4dd3cb8f29ae/698a0283656a3f3242bd8e23/mark-sanford-nbc-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Former South Carolina Rep. Mark Sanford Launches GOP Primary Challenge Against President Trump  by [Alejandro de la Garza](/author/alejandro-de-la-garza/)  ## Alejandro de la Garza Sep 8, 2019 3:00 PM CUT  Former Rep. Mark Sanford (R-SC) on "Meet the Press" in Washington, D.C., Sunday August 18, 2019. Former Rep. Mark Sanford (R-SC) on "Meet the Press" in Washington, D.C., Sunday August 18, 2019.William B. Plowman—NBC/NBC NewsWire/Getty Images  by [Alejandro de la Garza](/author/alejandro-de-la-garza/)  ## Alejandro de la Garza Sep 8, 2019 3:00 PM CUT [Mark Sanford](https://time.com/4715803/mark-sanford-republican-healthcare/ "undefined"), a former governor and congressman from South Carolina, announced on Sunday that he will mount a primary challenge to Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential race. “I’m here to tell you now that I am going to get in,” Sanford said on _Fox News Sunday_ with Chris Wallace, after weeks of speculation regarding whether he will enter the race. > [](https://twitter.com/FoxNewsSunday/status/1170695128278798336) Sanford, who [lost his House seat to a pro-Trump challenger](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/live-updates/midterms/live-primary-election-results/rep-mark-sanford-predicts-hell-primary-to-pro-trump-challenger/ "undefined") in 2018, joins former Massachusetts Gov. [Bill Weld](https://time.com/4518881/bill-weld-libertarian-donald-trump/ "undefined") and former Illinois House Rep. [Joe Walsh](https://time.com/5660887/joe-walsh-2020-campaign/ "undefined") in challenging Trump for the 2020 Republican nomination. Sanford has focused his primary challenge around the issue of limiting government deficits and spending, which he says both President Trump and his Democratic challengers have ignored. “I believe what’s happening in Washington needs challenging,” Sanford said in [a video](https://www.marksanford.com/ "undefined") posted to his campaign website. “We’re heading toward the most predictable financial crisis in the history of our country.” In 2009, Sanford, then Governor of South Carolina, faced scandal after admitting that he had been carrying on an [extramarital affair](http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1907022,00.html "undefined") in Argentina. Following his _Fox News Sunday_ appearance, Sanford tweeted a straightforward message on his decision to enter the 2020 race. “I am compelled to enter the presidential primary as a Republican for several reasons,” Sanford wrote, “The most important of which is to further and foster a national debate on our nation’s debt, deficits and spending.” > [](https://twitter.com/MarkSanford/status/1170701199290638337) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5671748/mark-sanford-primary-challenge-trump/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5671748/mark-sanford-primary-challenge-trump/"},"headline":"Former South Carolina Rep. 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