Horne faces ‘uphill battle’ in race with Sanford

Outgunned more than 50-to-1 in fundraising, state Rep. Jenny Horne knows she has to make every dollar count in her bid to unseat U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford in the June 14 GOP primary.

“I’m not running a Cadillac campaign,” said Horne, who had only $15,500 in cash on hand in March, according to her most recent Federal Election Commission filing. “I’m running a Chevrolet campaign.”

But Lowcountry Republican leaders and others say a lack of money is only one of several obstacles the Dorchester Republican faces in running against Sanford, who has a campaign war chest of more than $905,000.

Making things more difficult for Horne, Sanford has crucial name recognition across the 1st District. Sanford’s libertarian politics also align well with the leanings of his Lowcountry constituents, leaders and pundits say.

And, some add, at a time when GOP voters nationally are ousting establishment candidates, the former S.C. governor seems immune to a challenge from a candidate approaching him from the left.

“You can’t accuse Mark Sanford of being an establishment Republican,” Citadel political scientist Scott Buchanan said. “I don’t anticipate him ... being in any trouble when it’s all said and done.”

If re-elected, the famously frugal Sanford says he will continue to focus on curbing government spending.

“We are nearing a point of financial reckoning that, I think, is going to have absolutely condemning consequences for the middle class, for the young people in America, if we don’t get our finances in order,” said the Mount Pleasant Republican, whose website includes a ticker that notes the growing U.S. national debt in real time.

‘I actually get things done’

Horne says the Lowcountry’s 1st District residents need more active representation in Washington.

Horne said she is proud of her record in the S.C. House, which includes ordering an audit of the troubled state Department of Social Services in 2012, passing legislation to require licensing of home health care providers and pushing through legislation to expand mental health treatment.

She also received national attention last year for her rousing four-minute speech urging fellow S.C. House members to remove the Confederate flag from State House grounds.

“I actually get things done, whether it’s at the state level or at the federal level,” Horne said. “I can’t name one thing he has done for the state of South Carolina in the eight years I’ve been in office, including when he was governor.”

Sanford said his record of job growth as governor and in facilitating a project to deepen Charleston Harbor as a congressman show otherwise.

Key to Horne’s success, onlookers say, will be capitalizing on any frustrations with Sanford’s job performance.

But, they add, that could prove difficult.

Sanford has been well received on the campaign trail by constituents who appreciate his frugality and his efforts to block drilling off the S.C. coast, some say.

“He’s a solid incumbent. He’s not really done anything so egregious that the community would say, ‘We need a change,’ ” Beaufort County GOP chairman Jim Riordan said. “I applaud her candidacy. I think she’s done a good job. But, boy, I think she has a tough campaign.”

Is Trump an issue?

Horne, who will square off with Sanford in an SCETV debate at 7 p.m. on June 6, said some Lowcountry residents disapprove of Sanford’s votes to close Guantánamo Bay in Cuba, a move she says could bring detainees to the coastal district.

“The issue in this race is Sanford’s voting record in Congress,” Horne said. “It is against the 1st Congressional District’s interest. He’s not voting in our interest.”

Sanford said he voted to close the prison because he opposes holding detainees indefinitely. But he labeled as “nonsensical” the suggestion he would support bringing detainees to his district.

Horne also publicly has slammed Sanford for his hesitancy to back likely Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. And, during her farewell speech in the S.C. House Thursday, she joked she wishes she had voted to impeach Sanford as the state’s governor after he returned from a secret five-day trip to Argentina and admitted to an extramarital affair.

Sanford stands by his hesitancy to support Trump, saying the real-estate mogul lacks civility and his financial policies are concerning.

“By process of default, in essence, I’m left with no other choice,” Sanford said. “Based on Supreme Court appointments alone, that gets you there. But it has been with a great pause and reflection.”

Horne said she knows taking on an incumbent is hard, especially with limited money. But, she says, campaign contributions continue to flow in, and social media offers a low-cost connection with potential voters.

“I didn’t get this far by not taking a chance,” Horne said.

‘An uphill battle’

Charleston County GOP chairman Larry Kobrovsky said a small voter turnout in the June 14 primary could make the race interesting. “But I don’t sense any groundswell of anti-Sanford sentiment that has been created.”

Riordan said both Sanford and Horne have been visible and well received in Beaufort County.

“She is doing all you can reasonably expect a challenger to do,” Riordan said. “She’s making herself available. She’s speaking to a lot of groups.

“But I think she’s got an uphill battle.”

This story was originally published May 29, 2016 at 10:33 PM.