ATLANTA – South Carolina governor Mark Sanford, who has been seen as a potential candidate for the 2012 US presidential election, tearfully admitted yesterday he had been unfaithful to his wife, and resigned as chairman of the Republican Governors’ Association.
Mr Sanford apologised at length for his actions at a news conference after he returned from a secret trip to Argentina and ended days of speculation about his whereabouts.
Mr Sanford, shedding tears, said he had “developed a relationship” with a “dear friend” from Argentina. He apologised to the people of South Carolina and to his wife, family and friends.
“I met this person a little over eight years ago, very innocently . . . What I did was wrong. Period,” Mr Sanford said. “I’m going to resign as chairman of the Republican Governors’ Association,” said Mr Sanford, a prominent fiscal conservative.
When media reported Mr Sanford’s whereabouts were unknown since last Thursday, and that even his wife did not know where he was, his aides had said he was hiking on the Appalachian Trail in the eastern United States to get away for a break.
During his absence, some South Carolina politicians accused him of abdicating responsibility to the state. Mr Sanford flew back from Argentina early yesterday. He told a reporter for the State, South Carolina’s biggest newspaper, that he had changed his earlier plans for a trip and had decided at the last minute to go to Argentina. – (Reuters)