--- 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=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 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=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Former South Carolina Rep. Mark Sanford Launches GOP Primary Challenge Against President Trump > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Alejandro de la Garza](https://time.com/author/alejandro-de-la-garza/)  ## Alejandro de la Garza Sep 8, 2019 3:00 PM UTC  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](https://time.com/author/alejandro-de-la-garza/)  ## Alejandro de la Garza Sep 8, 2019 3:00 PM UTC [Mark Sanford](https://time.com/4715803/mark-sanford-republican-healthcare/), 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/) in 2018, joins former Massachusetts Gov. [Bill Weld](https://time.com/4518881/bill-weld-libertarian-donald-trump/) and former Illinois House Rep. [Joe Walsh](https://time.com/5660887/joe-walsh-2020-campaign/) 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/) 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) 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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