Rep. Chip Limehouse In Sun City Campaigning For Congress - WSAV: News, Weather, and Sports for Savannah, GA

Rep. Chip Limehouse In Sun City Campaigning For Congress

As we get closer to the special election for the open South Carolina Congressional seat, more candidates are making their rounds in Beaufort County.  There are 16 Republicans seeking the office and two Democrats.

South Carolina Representative Chip Limehouse visited the Sun City Republicans Monday morning.

While questions from the crowd had him touching on several issues, his main point was this: if you don't want former Governor Mark Sanford in the seat, then vote for him.

"I think it's down to me and Mark Sanford and if you tell your friends to vote for me, I'll be your next Congressman," Limehouse said to the Sun City Republicans Monday.

Limehouse brought a lot of energy to the Sun City room Monday morning--especially when asked about former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford's plea for forgiveness.

"I'm a Christian, I love the Lord, I will forgive him or anybody else that asks for forgiveness," Limehouse said.  "I, myself, may need forgiveness one day.  But what I can't do is take that person who is asking for forgiveness and confuse that and turn it and say, ‘oh, by the way, we're going to put you in another public office in which you took a term-limit pledge of six years for,'" Limehouse said of the former governor.

Limehouse said political pundits tell him this race will come down to Sanford and him and now he's trying to convince the crowd why he's the better choice.

During the question and answer portion Monday, Limehouse said trimming the federal budget would start with drastically cutting from departments that don't do a whole lot.  Military would be his last on his list.

A couple questions came on the issue of illegal immigration.  Limehouse said he would not push for new legislation until the borders are secure.  A start, he says, is three fences.

"We don't need to be paying for someone who's not a citizen of this country for the medical care, food, and clothing.  We can't afford the people who are in this country as citizens much less to take on the burden of illegal aliens," Limehouse said. "That's why I am for illegal immigration reform and my reform is three fences."

This special election is March 19th.  Unless a candidate gets 50 percent of the vote, which is very unlikely with so many in the race, then a runoff will take two weeks later.