With 100% of the vote in, Mark Sanford has won the special election in South Carolina and will return to his old seat in Congress. The former governor and congressman defeated businesswoman Elizabeth Colbert-Busch, the sister of late night host Stephen Colbert. The favorite in the race swung back and forth between the two candidates. First, it was Mark Sanford, who was expected to win the reliably red district. Then it became Elizabeth Colbert-Busch after it was discovered Mark Sanford had trespassed on his wife’s property in violation of their divorce agreement. Recently, it became more of a toss-up, as Sanford switched his tone from redemption to aligning Colbert-Busch with Nancy Pelosi. Mark Sanford had said on Tuesday that if he didn’t win, this race would be his last. That would have been in strike contrast to the Governor Sanford, who was at one time seen as a potential 2012 contender. However, after he was found to be in Argentina with is mistress, even though he told his staff he was hiking the Appalachian Trail.
