South Carolina Republican Rep. Mark Sanford
GOP state Rep. Jenny Horne
made national news last week for her speech calling for the Confederate battle flag to be removed from the state House grounds, and she doesn't sound ready to step out of the spotlight yet. Horne says she's
considering a primary challenge against Rep. Mark Sanford for this safely red seat, though she also didn't rule out a gubernatorial bid for 2018.
Sanford is also nationally known, but for a very different reason. While serving as governor, Sanford went missing for several days in order in 2009 when he secretly visited his mistress in Argentina. Sanford left office a punchline (and forever tainting the phrase "hiking the Appalachian Trail"), but he resurrected his career when he won a 2013 special election. Voters hadn't forgotten Sanford's sordid past, but it wasn't enough to deny him the GOP nomination or keep him from prevailing in the general election in this Romney 58-40 seat.
We'll see if Horne can get any milage out of this if she runs, but the whole scandal will be seven years old by Election Day. Sanford will also have incumbency on his side, and there will be plenty of voters unhappy with Horne's role in the Confederate battle flag debate.