Elections

Turner mocks Sanford in new ad: ‘Sugar, just give me one more chance?’ [VIDEO]

Alexis Levinson Political Reporter
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South Carolina congressional hopeful Teddy Turner is out with a new ad mocking opponent and former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, who is trying to make his return to politics after his affair was revealed at the end of his gubernatorial term.

The ad features a cheesy, slick, ingratiating actor, sitting in an arm chair in front of a fire with a glass of wine in his hand.

“We’ve come a long way,” the man says, speaking the way he would to a girlfriend. “I know I’ve spent too much, but what’s a few trillion? It was all for you. But I’ve changed. I’ll keep my promises this time. It’ll be different. I’m sorry for all the mistakes I’ve made.”

“Sugar,” he says, “just give me one more chance?”

The ad then cuts to framed photos of Sanford, as well as the four of the other Republican primary candidates who currently hold or previously held elected office: state representatives Chip Limehouse and Andy Patrick, state Sen. Larry Grooms, and former state Sen. John Kuhn.

“Break up with career politicians,” says a female narrator. “The right guy? Teddy Turner. Conservative Republican, economics teacher, not a politician.”

The ad seems primarily targeted at Sanford, who is trying to make his first return to the national stage after the transgressions at the end of his second gubernatorial term, when he left the state for seven days and was discovered to have been visiting his Argentine mistress.

Sanford began running a television ad last week in which he obliquely addressed the issue, saying: “none of us go through life without mistakes. But in their wake, we can learn a lot about grace, a God of second chances, and be the better for it.”

Sanford is still considered the frontrunner in the sixteen person Republican primary. But it is expected that he will not be able to win a majority vote in such a crowded field, leaving everyone else vying for second place and a spot in the run off that will take place if no one wins a majority of the vote.

Turner, who has the advantages of a famous name and money, has tried to carve out a niche for himself as the non-career politician.

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