In May 2009, the SC Republican Convention was being held in Columbia. We had a both in the convention center's hall, along with all of the other candidates and office holders. Our booth was just across from the door into the meeting room and next to Senator Jim De Mint. He brought in 500 signed copies of his new book. He left with 495 at the end of the day.
I took up a post near the entry door to the center. It was my job to greet people, as they came in. I also wanted this post, because I could see all the dignitaries. As I was doing my job, I saw Governor Mark Sanford coming in with his entourage. I stuck out my hand to greet him. I told him who I was and that my cousin George was his doctor. He brightened up and told me that he loved George. We made a connection. After everyone got into the hall, the convention started. Andre gave me his credentials, so I could attend the convention. I made notes of what each candidate said. I had done a lot of opposition research on the candidates. Most of the candidates were good people.
In June 2009, the campaign was turned on its head. The governor went missing. His staff was told that he was hiking on the Appalachian Trail. When a Governor is away and out of touch, the Lt. Governor takes his or her place. His staff lied to us, when they said they were in touch with the governor. They weren't. A few days later, he was spotted at the Atlanta airport having flown from Argentina. It was a big deal. There were calls for him to resign. It would have been easy to criticize the governor, but I told Andre that he needed to take the high road, because of his office. He took my advice. Representatives from all of the candidates and the governor met in Spartanburg, SC to figure out what to do. A deal was struck that the governor would resign; Andre would become governor; and then he would not run for a full term, because he would be the incumbent and have an unfair advantage in the primary. We did not know that the governor was in Aiken, SC with his mistress and a political friend over that weekend. They were thinking of what to do. Sanford had decided that he should resign for the good of the State. The other two thought differently.
On Monday, the plan was that there would be a press conference. The governor would resign at noon, and Andre would become the governor. Then, Andre would withdraw from the race and serve out Mark's term as governor, which would be about 18 months. We were all ready to pack up the campaign and go home. When noon came, Sanford announced he would not resign as governor. Our mouths dropped open. We had a deal. The campaign was back on. After Mark's shocking announcement, Andre just said that the plan that was brokered had fallen through. The primary was coming up, and we had to get back on the road.
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