Mark Sanford's Formidable Opponent: Stephen Colbert's Sister
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/04/29/mark-sanford-s-formidable-opponent-stephen-colbert-s-sister.html
Left) Elizabeth Colbert Busch answers questions in Charleston, S.C. on February 11, 2013. (Right) Former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford during a campaign event on April 24, 2013 in Charleston, South Carolina. (Bruce Smith/AP; Richard Ellis/Getty )
On Monday night Republican nominee and former Gov. Mark Sanford no longer will have to debate with a cardboard cutout of Nancy Pelosi.
With the election to fill South Carolinas First Congressional District barely a week away, he and Democratic challenger Elizabeth Colbert Busch will meet Monday night in a 400-seat conference center at The Citadel in their only campaign debate. It wont be televised, but will be streamed live by several outlets. The next night they will appear jointly -- but will not debate -- at an NAACP-organized venue.
The question in Charleston these days is a simple one. In the first two weeks of April it was, Can Stephen Colberts sister defeat Jenny Sanfords former husband in a May 7 special election for South Carolinas First Congressional District? It quickly changed to, How badly will former two-term Governor Mark Sanford lose? The campaign exploded in mid-April in a series of events that sent Sanford reeling, as a front-page banner headline blared in the Charleston Post and Courier, the districts dominant newspaper.
The tailspin began with an April 16 Associated Press report revealing that Jenny had filed a complaint in Family Court charging Mark with violating a legal agreement not to enter her post-divorce home on Sullivans Island without permission. The clerk of court ruled the agreement was a public document. The court will hear the case on May 9, two days after the election between him and Elizabeth Colbert Busch.