Ex-GOP official: Sanford should use $1.7M left in campaign account to repair party’s brand

Ex-GOP official: Sanford must repair party brand

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina’s former GOP chairman says Gov. Mark Sanford needs to use the $1.7 million left in his 2006 election account to rebuild the GOP image his extramarital affair tarnished.

Former state Republican Party Chairman Katon Dawson said Monday that he’s asked Sanford to help after he tearfully confessed his affair with an Argentine woman.

Dawson says Sanford’s scandal will hurt the party’s ability to raise money.

Sanford’s second quarter financial report showed modest donations flowed into Sanford’s 2006 election account as he fought to keep the state from getting $700 million in federal stimulus cash. He spent nearly $18,000 in the quarter, with most going to a polling firm he’s used for years. Details of what the firm was paid for were not immediately clear.