SC1 GOP Primary Results: Sanford 'Humbled', Bostic Thanks God

Former Gov. Mark Sanford cleared the first major hurdle in his quest to complete one of the greatest comeback stories in modern political history by finishing first in the Republican Primary for the First Congressional District.

With 100 percent of the precincts reporting, Sanford finished with 37 percent of the vote and will face attorney Curtis Bostic in a GOP runoff on April 2.

Bostic finished second in the field of 16 candidates with 13 percent of the vote.

State Sen. Larry Grooms finished third with 12 percent.

"I'm humbled by the opportunity I've been given," Sanford said to supporters on Tuesday evening.

From the time he announced his intention to run for the seat vacated by Tim Scott’s appointment to the Senate, Sanford was the favorite to regain the office he held from 1995-2001.

Which is not to say his first-place finish was a certainty. Sanford’s nearly universal name recognition is due, of course, not just to his time as the Palmetto State’s governor, but also to the scandal that plagued his last two years in office.

However, enough Republican voters in SC1 thought that Sanford’s conservative record outweighed the well-documented troubles of 2009 and 2010.

Whether or not that will happen in the runoff against Bostic remains to be seen.

Close watchers of the SC1 race felt that if Sanford reached 40 percent in the primary he would be in good standing headed into the runoff. The thinking being that few voters were undecided about whether or not to vote for him.

As Bostic entered his law office Tuesday night after 10 p.m. and narrowing winning second place over Grooms, the first words out of his mouth were: "God is good."

The crowd responded: "All the time."

Bostic kept his victory speech short, focusing on his Christian faith, family and the grassroots effort that got the votes out.

"You have defied the world, my friends. They thought we couldn't do it. They thought this seat had to be bought," Bostic said. "We can do things people don't expect."

With 493 votes separating him from Bostic, Grooms said he would wait for an automatic recount before officially conceding.

"Now the county election offices will certify the vote, and we want to just verify that all the voting cartridges are accounted for and turned in," he said.

Grooms said a recount could take several days. He said he had no plans to waive the recount.

Supporters, deflated by the returns, said they weren't sure who they'd support if Grooms was not in the runoff.

At least one supporter doubted if Sanford could win the nomination and whether he could win against Elizabeth Colbert Busch.

"A lot of conservatives may just hold their nose and vote for him, but it shows a lot of problems when you're the former governor and you only get 37 percent of the vote," said Gary Batey of Summerville.

"He should have easily topped 50 percent based on his name alone."

Here are the full results:

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Read ALL of Patch's coverage of the fight for South Carolina's first Congressional District — including profiles, finances and event coverage — here.