Meet Mark

Meet Mark

He has twice represented the First District of South Carolina in the U.S. Congress, has worked in real estate, operated his family farm, and has had the blessing and honor of raising four great sons. In Washington, DC, as a U.S. Representative, and as governor of South Carolina, his record as a fiscal reformer and budget hawk was incontestable.

During his two terms as Governor, he also accomplished a long list of firsts designed to better people’s lives, their prospects for a job, and to make the state a more inviting place for businesses and entrepreneurs. But for all his accomplishments, Mark's life took a major turn in his sixth year as Governor. In 2009 he had a well chronicled affair, which brought about the collapse of his 20-year marriage and the end of his political career.

Several years later, however, the people of the First District once again elected him to represent them in the U.S. Congress, and they reelected him twice more. But in 2018, he lost his bid for reelection after speaking out repeatedly against then-President Donald Trump.

Mark graduated from Furman University where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Business. He later received a Master of Business Administration from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. He currently lives in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.