With just a week left before Election Day, Republican Rep. Mark Sanford is still refusing to endorse state Rep. Katie Arrington, who unseated him in the GOP primary in South Carolina’s 1st Distrct earlier this year and is now facing a much tougher-than-expected campaign in the general election against Democrat Joe Cunningham.
Sanford has long been critical of Arrington, particularly over her stance on offshore oil drilling: During the primary, Arrington supported the idea as a way of tying herself to Trump and attacked Sanford for not standing with her. But after Arrington secured the Republican nomination, she claimed she'd always opposed such drilling, which is widely unpopular in this coastal district with important tourism and fishing industries. After this shameless about-face, Sanford justly berated Arrington for attempting to perpetrate "a complete lie."
While a Sanford endorsement likely wouldn't move many votes, Arrington doesn't need a #Republicansindisarray storyline dogging her in the final days of the race, particularly with signs showing Cunningham closing. On Monday, the NRCC jumped in with an $87,000 TV buy to prop up their candidate, and the New York Times now reports that Republicans are "nervous" because the race is "tight." Arrington remains favored thanks to this district's conservative tilt, but this is yet another seat the GOP shouldn't have to worry about but is sweating anyway.