COLUMBIA, S.C. _ Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford is dropping out of the 2020 presidential race after just two months on the campaign trail.
The two-time congressman's platform of cutting government spending and lowering the national debt failed to garner widespread support, and the Mount Pleasant Republican was denied by his own state party the chance to challenge President Donald Trump in South Carolina's 2020 presidential primary.
Sanford announced he was dropping out Tuesday while in New Hampshire, saying his campaign struggled to build momentum because all eyes have been focused on the U.S. House's impeachment inquiry.
"You've got to be a realist," Sanford said. "What I did not anticipate is an impeachment."
Sanford's campaign faced slim odds from its inception. Sanford himself often said the campaign was primarily aimed at starting a more robust conversation about the mounting national debt.
The former governor consistently garnered less than 5% support in national polls. He polled at only 2% in South Carolina when matched up against Trump, according to an August survey by Change Research.
Sanford faced additional challenges as state Republican parties across the country _ including his home state _ vowed not to hold a Republican primary. The former governor fought the state party's decision, which is currently being challenged in court by former U.S. Rep. Bob Inglis, R-Greenville.
Though Sanford seldom lobbed attacks at Trump, the president did not shy from attacking Sanford.
A day before Sanford announced his campaign, Trump tweeted a reference to Sanford's well-known affair, in which the then-governor claimed to be hiking the Appalachian Trail while he was actually visiting his mistress in Argentina.
Trump then bragged about Sanford's 2018 loss in the 1st District GOP primary to Republican Katie Arrington, whom Trump endorsed with a tweet just before polls closed.
Sanford's candidacy was riddled with awkward moments that raised questions of his campaign's legitimacy.
He campaigned in front of an Arby's and took a cardboard cutout of Trump to an S.C. State House event.
During a now-infamous campaign stop in Philadelphia, just one person showed up to hear him speak.
Before the affair that marred his last 18 months as South Carolina's governor, Sanford was a rising star who seemed destined to one day run for president.
Back then, no one expected the campaign to last just 65 days.
