Sanford talks about '08, SC primary

Posted: Tuesday, May 15, 2007 5:47 PM by Mark Murray
Filed Under: States, Republicans

COLUMBIA, SC -- Just a few hours before tonight's debate, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) sat down with NBC News to discuss his thoughts on the 2008 presidential race, his state's all-important primary, and his own political future. In response to his recently published op-ed in The Politico, in which he argued that federal spending under the GOP's watch had gotten out of control, Sanford stated that reining in spending is a "litmus test" for Republican and independent voters that hit on the broader themes of leadership and trust. While it's more difficult for a presidential candidate to display leadership on the tricky issues of national security and Iraq, he said, taxes and spending are "a lot easier to get your arms around."

Regarding the GOP's South Carolina primary, he said that there is one certainty he knows: "It will occur third." In addition, he noted that he's "struggling" with a proposal that would allow the state to help finance South Carolina's GOP and Democratic primaries. "I still got some heartburn" on that issue, he said -- observing that there are two schools of thought: 1) that the primaries help the economy and therefore the state should help fund them; and 2) that taxpayers shouldn't pay for a political party's contest. Sanford told NBC that he would make a decision on the proposal in the next week.

Sanford hasn't yet endorsed any GOP presidential contender, and he said he'd likely refrain making any endorsement in the lead up to South Carolina's primary. But he acknowledged that there is some truth to the polls showing that many Republicans voters aren't satisfied with their presidential choices. "The conservative base is still out there and looking, and they haven't locked onto one candidate yet."

There was some talk earlier this year that conservatives wanted Sanford to make a White House run. Will he? "It isn't where I am right now," he replied.

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Comments

"Loves Me Like A Rock"-Paul Simon

Still Crazy After All These Years (Sent Tuesday, May 15, 2007 7:12 PM)

It's interesting to see in South Carolina - a state that leans Republican - so many Republicans dissatisfied with their entire roster of presidential candidates. It shows how distant Republican leaders are from their party and from the everyday lives of working people. On issues like healthcare, jobs, stem cell research, and the war in Iraq, the Republicans are offering the opposite of what most Americans are saying they want. Anyone paying attention should expect strong Democratic gains in the next election.

Jennifer in Rock Hill, South Carolina (Sent Tuesday, May 15, 2007 9:05 PM)

Why SHOULDN'T the taxpayers pay for the primary? They pay for them in most other states- in fact, until 2004, SC was the ONLY state that had the primaries run by the parties themselves. This was a result of pre-Civil Rights-era maneuvering to disenfranchise minority voters. (This was back when the Democrats were the only game in town. There was no Republican primary until 1980.) As a result, no party even attempted to open all the polling places until the 2004 Democratic Primary. In addition, the last time there was a Republican primary, the party closed at least 1/5 the polling places, even after they had been sued to open as many as possible- and, in some cases, failed to report the closings until the day of the election. (See coverage in The State (Columbia), The Greenville News, and Salon.com) In addition, two of the three Republicans still in the race (John McCain and Alan Keyes.) called for a federal investigation of the poll closings, saying it had violated Federal law. (Only one candidate fully accepted the results and dismissed calls to investigate- George W. Bush...)

Orville, Greenville, South Carolina (Sent Tuesday, May 15, 2007 10:29 PM)

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