My Comment:  So evidently we not only celebrate murder, and homosexual behavior, now we celebrate infidelity as well.

(Daily Mail)  Disgraced former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford can officially claim that his career is back on track after he pulled through with a surprising win Tuesday night in the state’s special congressional election.

Sanford will once again serve as an elected official for the Palmetto State after winning against his Democratic challenger, Elizabeth Colbert Busch.

Given the conservative nature of the region, it isn’t so much the fact that the Republican candidate beat the Democrat contender in the first district, but more of a shock given Sanford’s very public fall from grace following his extramarital affair and ensuing divorce back in 2009 when he was the governor.

Victory: Former Governor Mark Sanford was elected back into office as a Congressman for the first district on Tuesday night as part of the state’s special election

Watchful eye: Sanford’s mistress-turned-fiancee Maria Belen Chapur is seen in the shadows clapping behind him as he addresses supporters Tuesday night

The campaign was seen as an opportunity for redemption for Sanford, as his scandalous personal life continued to haunt him at every turn.

After winning the Republican primary in a crowded field, Sanford had to deal with a lawsuit from his ex-wife who blasted him for trespassing on her property, revelations that he only introduced his mistress-turned-fiancee to one of his sons on-stage at the primary victory party, and a very public withdrawal of party support when the National Republican Congressional Committee backed away from him in the middle of the campaign.

At points, polls had his competitor- who is the sister of comedian Stephen Colbert- winning by nine points. The figure came as a shock to many given the demographics of the region where Mitt Romney won the 2012 by 18 points.

Apparently the torrent of personal drama could not keep the conservatives away from the polls, as Sanford was reported the winner.

Shortly after 9pm, both the Associated Press and CNN called the race for Sanford after nearly three-quarters of the precincts reporting their results: Sanford had 54 per cent of the vote, ten more than Colbert-Busch.

Looking on: Maria Belen Chapur was seen at the victory party on Tuesday

In an effort to move past his personal history, Sanford focused much of his campaign on the need for fiscal spending in Washington.

‘I said from the beginning of this campaign that we are indeed at a tipping point in this civilization, and that if we didn’t get things right there would be real consequences for the American dollar, American savings, and the American way of life,’ he said.

His mistress-turned-fiancee, Maria Belen Chapur, was on hand to celebrate with him at Tuesday night’s victory party, but it does not seem like an accident that they did not kiss on stage.

Earlier in the campaign, Sanford told MailOnline that she was flown in from her native Argentina for his primary victory party, and so he did not expect her to be there when he was onstage with his two teenage sons.

That struck his ex-wife Jenny Sanford the wrong way, however, as she went on to confirm to a reporter that the awkward expression on her son’s face was because that was the first time that he ever actually met the new woman in his father’s life.

The onstage encounter was not the first time that either Chapur or Sanford’s 14-year-old son played a role in the campaign.

Chapur was the woman that Sanford went to visit in Argentina in 2009 when he disappeared for days, telling his staff that he was going to be unreachable while hiking on the Appalachian Trail.

Sanford was caught by reporters at the airport after his trip, and he admitted the affair. Jenny filed for divorce in the aftermath, and went on to write a book.

Adoring masses: The race gained national attention bringing much more of a magnifying glass to every move

The couple’s youngest son came back into the fold when Jenny’s legal team filed a lawsuit two weeks before Election Day against Mark, citing his ‘pattern of trespassing’ after he broke the terms of their divorce agreement that stipulated that they not spend time in one another’s homes without prior permission.

The most recent incident occurred on February 3 when Sanford went into his ex-wife’s Sullivans Island home. After the papers were filed- and the NRCC pulled their support- Sanford took out a full page ad in the local newspaper explaining the incident in hopes of clarifying the situation to voters.

He didn’t stop explaining his side of the story with the 1,200-word ad either, as he included his real cell phone number in the ‘personal message’, encouraging voters to call him with questions.

‘I think that people always want to know the real story, the full story,’ he told MailOnline by phone at the time.

Vindicated: If Sanford lost the race, many would have considered his political career over but now he is headed back to Washington, D.C.

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Tags: infidelity, sanford