WASHINGTON — Is Speaker of the House John Boehner excited about the prospect of having former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford back in congress?
Meh.
Voters of South Carolina’s First District are headed to the polls Tuesday to decide if they would rather have Sanford or Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch as their next U.S. Representative. Sanford had previously held the seat between 1995 and 2001.
Asked at a press conference Tuesday whether he would welcome Sanford into the conference if he won, Boehner gave the verbal equivalent of a shrug that suggested little affection for the former governor and congressman.
“The voters of the First District of South Carolina will make their decision,” Boehner said. “And just like any one of us, or any of the 435 members of congress, we don’t get to choose who they are, their electorate gets to decide who they are. So we’ll see what the outcome is gonna be.”
Sanford and Colbert Busch are vying for the seat vacated by former Rep. Tim Scott, who was appointed to the Senate to replace former Sen. Jim DeMint late last year. DeMint resigned from the seat to become president of the conservative Heritage Foundation.
Polling released over the weekend found the race in a dead heat.