Should Republicans root for Mark Sanford to lose?

The scandal-plagued Sanford is suddenly ahead in his race against Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch. That's not necessarily good news for the GOP.

If Mark Sanford wins the South Carolina senate seat, Democrats could actually benefit in the long run.
(Image credit: Brian Cahn/ZUMA Press/Corbis)

Mark Sanford, the scandal-stained former GOP governor of South Carolina, is gaining momentum in the last days before his Tuesday special congressional election matchup against Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch. Sanford, who was down by nine points just two weeks ago, has edged ahead, leading 47-46 in Public Policy Polling's final survey. The last-minute news marked a potentially devastating reversal of fortunes for local Democrats, who have had high hopes that Sanford's personal baggage — a 2009 extramarital affair left his career in tatters — would help them pick up a seat in a conservative district that has been in Republican hands for years.

Losing, however, might not be so bad for Democrats. Sure, a defeat would mean "a bit of short-term pain" for the party, says Chris Cillizza and Sean Sullivan in The Washington Post, but there's potential for some long-term gain. "Sanford is damaged goods." First, he acknowledged in 2009 that he went AWOL from his job to visit his mistress in Argentina, while claiming he was "hiking the Appalachian Trail." Then, more recently, he was accused of trespassing in his ex-wife's house to watch the Super Bowl with one of his four sons. This stuff has made Sanford a national punchline.

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.