SC Republican Mark Sanford considering primary challenge to Trump

Former South Carolina governor and congressman Mark Sanford is considering running against President Trump in 2020 as a Republican, The Post and Courier reports.  

Sanford told the paper in an interview published Tuesday that he will use the next month to consider a potential primary challenge against Trump. 

{mosads}“Sometimes in life you’ve got to say what you’ve got to say, whether there’s an audience or not for that message,” Sanford, who has been a critic of the president, told the paper. “I feel convicted.”

The possible presidential run comes just over a year after Sanford lost a House primary in a contentious reelection bid that was seen as a referendum on his criticism of Trump.

The president had urged voters to reject Sanford in the days leading up to the June 2018 primary.

If he jumps into the race, Sanford faces near-impossible odds in the effort to defeat Trump and become the Republican nominee for president.

Polls routinely show that Trump has support from about 90 percent of Republicans, and Sanford does not have a high profile outside of South Carolina.

The Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee (RNC) combined to raise $108 million in the second quarter and together have more than $123 million in cash reserves.

RNC members have voted to express their “undivided support” for Trump’s candidacy, and the national party has taken steps to ensure that potential primary challengers cannot gain traction in the race.

The Trump campaign has been keeping its ear to the ground about potential challengers and has a delegates strategy in place to ensure there are no surprises at the convention next August in Charlotte, N.C.

Former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld (R) launched a long-shot primary challenge against Trump in April, but his campaign has failed to gain traction and he raised only about $700,000 this quarter.

Rep. Justin Amash (I-Mich.) has not ruled out an independent or Libertarian Party challenge against Trump after announcing he would leave the Republican Party earlier this month.

A group of “Never Trump” Republicans has been meeting about recruiting a potential challenger to Trump, but they have not been able to convince a challenger to take the plunge. Most Washington insiders view it as a doomed effort to be undertaken as a matter of principle, rather than as a serious effort to win the nomination.

The effort by “Never Trump” Republicans to steal the nomination away from Trump at the 2016 convention fizzled and was never really a threat Trump’s nomination.