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Some upstate Republicans want Sanford to resign

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FORT MILL, S.C. -- It’s not despite the fact that they are Republicans. It’s because they are Republicans that several leaders of York County’s GOP say they want Governor Mark Sanford to resign—and they plan to march on the state house if necessary.

Sanford admitted Wednesday that he visited an Argentine woman with whom he had an affair during a 6-day period where he fell off the map. Staff told the media he was hiking the Appalachian Trail.  Sanford later admitted that the year-long affair began during a taxpayer-funded trip. He has agreed to pay the state back.

“We [are] a party that hold ours’ responsible,” York County GOP Chairman Glenn McCall told Newschannel 36. “We have been dogmatic on issues related to this with the governor and I think we have to apply the same standards that we apply to others to ourselves.”

“We believe that no man or woman is above the principles,” vice chair Park Gillespie added. “If you are going to say, ‘We hold the mantle—the right to lead—because these principles are right,’  than you do what’s right even when it doesn’t reflect well on you.”

The governor has said he considered stepping down, but has decided he will not.  Gillespie and McCall say they are among several Republicans working behind the scenes to convince the governor that this is the wrong decision.  However, they will rally if they fail to do that.

“Our plans would be that we would go probably Wednesday or Thursday to the statehouse with 300, 400 hundred people and make our voices heard,” McCall said.

Analysts say there is a lot of angling going on behind closed doors in South Carolina because of the upcoming governor’s race in 2010. 

There could be six Republicans in the field.  Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer is among those who may run.  The other candidates stand to lose ground if Bauer becomes the incumbent governor.

“I'd say there are probably some cigar smoke-filled rooms in Columbia right now where they are asking those questions,” Dr. Scott Huffmon, political science professor at Winthrop University said.

The debate is so intense it has Bauer considering promising not to run.

"The conversation now is more about Andre Bauer than the governor," Bauer said. "This really shouldn't be the debate. The

debate should be, 'Is Mark Sanford in his heart of hearts comfortable in serving out his term?' This is a dark cloud over South Carolina. We need to move swiftly and move forward."

"Anybody who underestimates Andre Bauer does so to his own detriment," said Huffmon. "None of the other candidates want to see Andre Bauer have a year and a half auditioning as governor."