Former US Governor Sanford eyes run for House seat

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (AP) - Former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, who left public life two years ago after mysteriously disappearing to visit his then-mistress in Argentina, is poised to re-enter the political arena.

Acknowledging reports that he is seriously weighing a congressional bid for the seat he once held, Mr Sanford wrote in an e-mail late on Saturday: "To answer your question, yes the accounts are accurate." He promised "further conversation on all this" at a later date.

The two-term governor was a rising Republican political star before he vanished from South Carolina for five days in 2009. Reporters were told he was hiking the Appalachian Trail, but he later tearfully acknowledged he was visiting Maria Belen Chapur, a woman he called his soul mate at a news conference announcing his affair. The two were engaged earlier this year.

The opening for Mr Sanford came after Representative Tim Scott was appointed to fill the remaining two years of Senator Jim DeMint's seat. Mr DeMint announced earlier this month he was resigning.