Posted on 06/26/2002 1:12:11 PM PDT by Big Steve
Former congressman will next face Hodges
BY SCHUYLER KROPF AND BRIAN HICKS
Of The Post and Courier Staff
It was never even close.
Former congressman Mark Sanford overcame a late start to decisively win the Republican nomination for governor Tuesday, upsetting early favorite Lt. Gov. Bob Peeler and emerging as the new face of the South Carolina GOP.
Peeler, as the highest-ranking Republican in state government, had for years been building a machine to become the party's challenger to Democratic Gov. Jim Hodges. Sanford, meanwhile, was one of the last of the seven Republicans candidates to enter the race, just 18 months ago.
With a voter turnout similar to the primary vote two weeks ago, Sanford beat Peeler by a hefty 60 to 40 percent. The race was declared over less than two hours after the polls closed at 7 p.m.
"From day one, this campaign has been about the need for a change in this state," Sanford said in his victory speech. "This campaign is going to continue to be about those elements of change we've been talking about. I want to thank the voters for this mandate."
Sanford won in nearly every corner of South Carolina and even expanded his following into the conservative Upstate, which had carried Peeler into the runoff two weeks ago.
To deliver his victory speech Tuesday night, Sanford, 42, had to fight through a crowd of more than 1,000 people to take the stage at Sticky Fingers restaurant in Mount Pleasant. To a screaming crowd, Sanford said the outcome shows that voters see "the need for breaking the status quo in Columbia" and said that Republicans would circle the wagons and unite immediately.
"As Republicans, we will be united in advancing a conservative message that will make a real difference," he said.
Sanford called Peeler a "noble and strong competitor" and reached out to his supporters, commending them for having the honor to stick with their candidate. He characterized Peeler's campaign tactics as "the sign of a true competitor."
"I know how it gets. I've been playing basketball with my brother, and when you get inside, close to the goal, the elbows come out," he said.
Peeler delivered his concession speech shortly before 9 p.m. at the Sheraton Hotel in Columbia. "It's not what we had hoped, but we accept the people's decision," he said before urging all Republicans "to get behind Mark and help him take back the governor's office."
"When you offer yourself for public service, you have to accept the good and the bad," he added.
Sanford said Peeler called him to concede and said, "I will fight as hard for you as I did during my own campaign."
Sanford credited his campaign's success partly to the help of several people who stepped in at "critical moments" over the last two weeks, most notably former Gov. Carroll A. Campbell Jr., Attorney General Charlie Condon and U.S. Rep. Lindsey Graham.
Campbell and Graham took Sanford's side in the runoff, endorsing him and criticizing the negative ads against him - something that is almost unheard of in Republican primaries.
And Condon, himself a 2002 Republican gubernatorial candidate, endorsed Sanford early in the runoff and helped him campaign across the state. It appeared to help. An analysis of post-election returns suggests Sanford benefited greatly from the endorsements of Condon and Secretary of State Jim Miles in the runoff, picking up many of their supporters.
Exit polls also showed voters locked onto Sanford's maverick label, which he cultivated while Charleston's 1st District congressman, and rejected what many saw as negative campaigning by Peeler over the last two weeks.
Sanford's win mirrors his equally improbable 1994 victory for a seat in Congress. In that race - his first ever - Sanford walked out of his real estate investment office in Charleston and entered what was also a seven-way race for the party nomination.
He had no history in the Republican Party but won the GOP runoff after defeating early favorite Van Hipp, who, like Peeler, was seen as the choice of the party hierarchy. Then and now, Sanford pushed an agenda of trying to change the way government operates.
He will try to become the first former congressman to win the Governor's Mansion since Campbell did it in 1986.
Hodges, meanwhile, announced there would be no summer lull. He immediately challenged the GOP winner to a debate Monday night on TV in Columbia. Sanford called Hodges' quick call a "political gimmick" and said he welcomes future debates, but after he has a chance to rest and recover from the runoff.
"First, I need to do some catching up with my wife and kids," Sanford said. "I want to have substantive, issues-based debates with the governor, not a bunch of 30- and 60-second sound bites. We should have a series of Lincoln-Douglas type debates."
Sanford urged Hodges to take the high road and shun negative campaigning. He said the results of the runoff show that voters don't like them.
"I would challenge him to not run negative ads," he added. "I think they're an insult to the intelligence of the voters of South Carolina. Let's put our own faces on our ads, not use some slick, anonymous commercial from a third party. If he'll do that, I'll do that."
The state Republican Party also announced plans to mend any wounds that might have resulted from the sometimes-nasty primary fight via a unity gathering scheduled for Thursday in Columbia. At the meeting, Peeler, Sanford and several top-ranking party officials are set to announce their plans to campaign together against Hodges.
Sanford also said he hoped President Bush would be able to come down and campaign for him.
Presidential visit or not, Sanford's chances of a November win appear good. A recent Post and Courier poll of voters statewide showed him in a statistical tie with Hodges. The poll of 500 regular voters gave Hodges only a 44-42 percent edge, which pollster Brad Coker said should be a warning sign for any incumbent governor.
Hodges will kick off his own campaign today with a tour of a technical college in the Midlands where he will highlight the scholarship program created by the S.C. Education Lottery.
Some Peeler operatives were upset Tuesday that much of Sanford's appeal was carried by his financial ability to run more TV ads during the course of the campaign. Alan Gardner of Newberry, a Peeler backer, said Sanford's win would change how all races are run in the future, adding they will be run by television instead of by party activists.
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