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COLUMBIA Gov. Mark Sanford says he's staying put despite friends and political allies pleading with him Wednesday to step down after his latest confessions about an extramarital affair and inappropriate behavior with other women.
Reiterating he has not misused any state funds, Sanford's staff said the governor will finish out the 18 remaining months of his term.
Sanford's spokesman said Wednesday the governor is through talking about his personal life – an obvious effort to move forward that is consistent with the belief Sanford can weather this scandal.
“The governor has given a full and truthful account, and he is finished discussing this matter,” said Joel Sawyer, the governor's spokesman. “He is focused on being governor, on rebuilding his marriage, and on building back the trust of South Carolinians.”
Close friends of Sanford who have been in regular contact with him described him as defiant. Sanford's “feet are in concrete” in resisting calls for him to quit office, according to sources who have spoken with him in recent days.
When told his political support has evaporated, Sanford responded to one confidant, “Well, I'll be here until they throw me out.”
Rock Hill Republican Sen. Wes Hayes on Wednesday joined a growing list of state GOP senators in asking the governor to resign. Late Wednesday, that group included 14 of the Senate's 27 Republicans, a majority.
Republican U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett became the first congressman to call for the governor to step down.
At least two top elected Republicans, including U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint and state Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, urged Sanford to do “the right thing,” a thinly veiled prod to step down.
DeMint told Fox News that he worries whether Sanford “is in a position that he can continue to lead the state.”
“A lot of us are talking to him behind the scenes in hopes that he'll make the right decision about what needs to be done,” DeMint said without elaborating.
Politico reported that DeMint, along with Sen. Lindsey Graham and Barrett, talked to Sanford Wednesday, although it was unclear whether they'd urged him to resign. Graham is godfather to Sanford's youngest son.
McConnell used language similar to DeMint's.
“He needs to decide immediately if he is an asset or a liability for our state,” said McConnell, a Charleston conservative. “I believe he knows what the right thing to do is and I hope that he will do what is right.”
“The conversation now is about his mental stability and whether that warrants resignation,” said Bob McAlister, former top aide to GOP Gov. Carroll Campbell.
At least six S.C. newspapers, including The Herald of Rock Hill, have called for the governor's resignation. The State newspaper of Columbia declined to join them because Sanford's resignation would elevate Republican Lt. Gov Andre Bauer.
Bauer, it said, “simply has not demonstrated that he has the vision to lead our state” adding that his “fits of irresponsibility and self-dealing have been a hallmark of his tenure.”
Forceful removal unlikely
But if the governor has not misused public money and if there are no more bombshell revelations about his personal life, lawmakers acknowledge that forcing the governor out is a remote possibility.
Consider:
Lawmakers privately say the governor would have had to have broken the law to be forced out of office. SLED Chief Reggie Lloyd has made it clear the governor is not under criminal investigation and there is no evidence of a crime. Lloyd is expected to wrap up his probe today. Unless there is evidence of lawbreaking, talk of impeachment is premature.
The General Assembly is in adjournment until January and can only assemble for the specific purposes spelled out in a resolution that ended the session. Impeachment discussions are not among the reasons.
House Speaker Bobby Harrell could recall the House into session to vote on whether the House should pursue impeachment. A two-thirds vote would be needed, according to the House Clerk's Office. That again favors Sanford.
Meanwhile, Sanford reneged on a promise to release financial records of his trips to New York and Argentina to see his mistress, Maria Belen Chapur. He had told The Associated Press he would supply them, but a spokeswoman said Wednesday he would not. Observer staff writer Jim Morrill and Associated Press contributed.
