PoliticsMark SanfordEat The PressPolitics

Ron Paul Endorses Mark Sanford, Because #YOLO

Ron Paul Endorses Mark Sanford, Because #YOLO
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By 

Eat The Press Editor, HuffPost

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The past week for Mark Sanford...it hasn't been good.

He's down nine points in the reliably Republican South Carolina 1st District to his Democratic competitor, Elizabeth Colbert Busch. He's had his cell phone deluged with calls from Democrats after inexplicably putting his phone number in a full-page ad in the Charleston Post and Courier. And for some reason, Sanford thought that performing a strange "debate" with a cardboard version of Nancy Pelosi was a good idea. All in all, the Sanford (R) campaign has been vastly more ridiculous than it's been sublime, since he won the GOP nomination in a primary run-off.

But according to The Washington Post, [DRUM ROLL] there's a game-changer:

Mark Sanford’s special election campaign announced Thursday that it has earned the endorsement of Sanford’s former House colleague, Ron Paul.

“Mark Sanford has always been a strong ally of the Liberty Movement. Help him get to Congress. Donate today!” Paul wrote in a fundraising appeal for Sanford.

We thus welcome former Texas congressman and presidential aspirant Paul to his post-political career as influential candidate-endorser. Which very well could be no joke, folks -- if there's one thing Paulites have proven able to do with regularity, it's raise decent sums of campaign cash in a short amount of time. The test is whether or not Paul will be able to marshal his forces in support of someone who does not share his surname. (The Post's Aaron Blake reports that Paul has picked a side in the upcoming GOP primary to fill Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss' seat -- current Georgia Rep. Paul Broun.)

Sanford can use the help. Paul's endorsement comes a week after the National Republican Congressional Committee announced that it was washing its hands of the former South Carolina governor. In a statement, the NRCC said: “Mark Sanford has proven he knows what it takes to win elections. At this time, the NRCC will not be engaged in this special election.” That's a pretty polite way of saying, "You're on your own."

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Before You Go

Politicians Who Wanted A Second Chance
Mark Sanford(01 of09)
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As South Carolina governor in 2009, Sanford admitted that he was having an extramarital affair with an Argentine woman and lied about his whereabouts, the Associated Press reported. He recently won a GOP runoff for the congressional seat in South Carolina's 1st district and is engaged to his mistress, Maria Belen Chapur. (credit:AP Photo/Bruce Smith)
Chuck Robb(02 of09)
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Virginia Democrat Chuck Robb took another shot at the U.S. Senate in 1994, years after admitting to a secret history of partying and sexual encounters, according to the New York Times. He won his bid for a second term. (credit:AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Eliot Spitzer(03 of09)
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The Democrat resigned as governor of New York in 2008 in a call-girl scandal and has since worked as a commentator for CNN and other media organizations, the Associated Press reported. (credit:Getty Images)
Newt Gingrich(04 of09)
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Former GOP Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich's history of marriages, divorces and affairs reemerged in the spotlight while making an unsuccessful bid for the White House in 2012. (credit:AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Barney Frank(05 of09)
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Massachusetts Democratic congressman Barney Frank's career was almost derailed in 1989 after he admitted to a relationship with a male prostitute, but went on to serve for two more decades before retiring, the Associated Press reported. (credit:AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
David Vitter(06 of09)
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He won a second term as a Republican senator from Louisiana in 2010, three years after he was identified as a client of a prostitution service in what was dubbed the "DC Madam" scandal, the Associated Press reported. (credit:ROBIN UTRECHT/AFP/Getty Images))
Bill Clinton (07 of09)
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Former President Bill Clinton was impeached by the House in 1998 but acquitted by the Senate over his relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, the Associated Press reported. (credit:ROBIN UTRECHT/AFP/Getty Images))
Ted Kennedy(08 of09)
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Massachusetts Democrat Edward "Ted" Kennedy was serving in the Senate in 1969, when he was involved in a post-party car accident that resulted in the death of Mary Jo Kopechne. Kennedy pled guilty to leaving the scene of an accident, and while the incident was thought to have damaged his presidential prospects, he ultimately served in the Senate until 2009, when he died of brain cancer. (credit:AP/Doug Mills)
Ken Calvert(09 of09)
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The California Republican was serving his first year in Congress in 1993 when he was busted by police while engaged in sexual conduct with a prostitute. The incident didn't slow down his political career, as Calvert is still serving on Capitol Hill. (credit:Getty Images)
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