Mark Sanford, a Republican, has refused to resign in the face of criticism from his own party.

(CNN) – A panel of South Carolina lawmakers who gathered Tuesday to formally consider impeaching Gov. Mark Sanford voted to broaden the scope of their inquiry to include 37 new ethics charges against the Republican.

Those civil charges were revealed Monday by the South Carolina Ethics Commission, which had conducted a three-month investigation into Sanford's use of state finances. The governor and his legal team now face a hearing before the Ethics Commission to determine if Sanford broke any state laws by charging the state for first- and business-class flights, using state-owned aircraft for political travel and tapping into campaign funds for personal use.

The lawmakers, members of a special subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee that met for the first time Tuesday, decided to include the ethics charges in their review and scheduled four more meetings of the subcommittee for December.

The group will review the Ethics Commission report over Thanksgiving and decide if the charges should be included in the impeachment resolution, which accuses Sanford of "serious misconduct" for leaving the state in June to visit his Argentine mistress without leaving in place a chain of command.

The seven lawmakers - four Republicans and three Democrats - listened to sworn affadavits from key players in the scandal and entered into the record news reports from June highlighting Sanford's absence from the state.

Rep. Greg Delleney, one of the Republicans who drafted the impeachment measure, appeared to warn Sanford against fighting an impeachment effort, should the subcommittee decide to move forward.

"Impeachment is a political process, it's not a legal process," Delleney said at the meeting, which was attended by Sanford's attorneys. "There is no appeal from an impeachment process. Impeachment is final. Impeachment is solely the constitutional power, duty and responsibility of the South Carolina House of Representatives."

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Former Sen. Rick Santorum will visit the crucial primary state of South Carolina in December.

Washington (CNN) – Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum doesn't appear to be shy about his 2012 intentions.

The Republican, who was thumped by 18 points in his 2006 re-election bid, has met with conservative activists in Iowa, delivered a speech to a Right to Life dinner in Michigan and has stepped up his public criticism of President Obama.

Now he's headed to another early primary state: South Carolina.

Santorum will campaign for Republican gubernatorial candidate Gresham Barrett in Bluffton, Spartanburg and Greenville on December 8 and 9. Barrett, currently a member of Congress, is one of five candidates seeking the GOP nomination for governor.

"I'm also looking forward to visiting with South Carolina families to discuss the issues that matter to them and the future of this country," Santorum said in a statement announcing the trip. "Too much is at stake to sit back and not participate in the critical discussion of how to address these issues."

Sanford is also facing a possible impeachment effort.

(CNN) – The South Carolina Ethics Commission has charged Gov. Mark Sanford with 37 counts of violating state ethics laws, according to a complaint released by the commission on Monday.

The complaint follows a three-month investigation into Sanford's use of taxpayer money.

Sanford is accused of using tax money to purchase business-class airfare on domestic and international flights, flying on a state-owned aircraft to political gatherings or events "which involved no official business," and spending campaign funds for personal use such as purchasing a ticket to attend President Barack Obama's inauguration in January.

South Carolina law requires state officials to purchase the lowest fares available for flights, and bars the use of state aircraft for personal use.

Sanford's office did not respond to requests for comment about the charges.

The governor, once a rising star in the Republican party before he revealed an extramarital affair in June, will now face a hearing along with his legal team before a three-member ethics panel. Cathy Hazelwood, general counsel to the state Ethics Commission, told CNN that no date has been set for the hearing.

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Sanford impeachment measure to be formally considered.

(CNN) – A special House committee in South Carolina will formally consider an impeachment resolution against Gov. Mark Sanford for the first time next Tuesday, the Republican chairman of the committee told CNN Friday.

The resolution, filed by a handful of House Republicans earlier this week, will be examined by an ad hoc committee of seven lawmakers from both sides of the aisle.

The group will meet for the first time next week, after Sanford provides the legislature with the results of a state Ethics Commission investigation into the governor's travel expenses, Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Harrison said.

The first meeting of the special committee on Tuesday will likely focus on Sanford's infamous trip to Argentina this summer, which led to revelations of an extramarital affair and calls for his resignation. Harrison said the group will then spend the Thanksgiving holiday poring over the Ethics Commission report before meeting again in December to include any additional language in the resolution.

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Inglis said 'hard-right' conservatives have told him that they are willing to let people who don't have health insurance 'die on the steps of the hospital'.

(CNN) – A Republican congressman with a reputation for frustrating members of his own party is now saying he's exasperated with the "hard right" element of the GOP.

South Carolina Rep. Bob Inglis, who is facing a primary challenge from four Republicans, told the Greenville News on Thursday that the Reagan coalition of social conservatives, fiscal conservatives and moderate Democrats is "running on fumes." He described the struggle now going on within the Republican party as one between the "religious right" and the "hard right," and said he can't identify with the latter.

"I'm concerned about abortion," Inglis told the paper. "It's very much a concern to me. The hard right really doesn't care about abortion. They just want you, government, out of their pocketbook, by golly."

According to the paper, Inglis said "hard-right" conservatives have told him that they are willing to let people who don't have health insurance "die on the steps of the hospital" to make a point about the problem of "free riders."

"As a religious right guy, I'm thinking there was a guy named Jesus who had some things to say about these kinds of concepts," Inglis added. "And I don't want to live in a society that lets a few test cases die on the steps of the hospital. I can't go there."

In a letter making an endorsement for governor, South Carolina's first lady said her family was 'resilient' in the face of recent challenges.

(CNN) – In a letter released Wednesday, Jenny Sanford, the wife of embattled South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, said she and her family are persevering after a difficult year in which her husband admitted to an extramarital affair. And South Carolina's first lady endorsed Republican Nikki Haley's candidacy to be the state's next governor.

Haley, a South Carolina legislator and an ally of Gov. Sanford, is one of five Republicans who have formally announced bids to replace Jenny Sanford's husband.

In the letter to Haley's supporters, Sanford praised her husband's tenure as governor.

"I'm proud of the work Mark and his Administration have done over almost seven years now, trying very hard to move the ball forward on [growing the economy, improving public schools, and reforming government]."

Sanford also praises Haley as "principled, conservative, tough, and smart."

"So when I'm asked my wish for South Carolina's future, my wish is for a leader of state government like Nikki Haley," Sanford writes.

"And there's one other thing," Sanford writes before broaching the subject of her family's challenges in the last year.

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Texas Rep. Ron Paul will return to the early primary state next month.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Will Ron Paul give it another go in 2012?

The Texas congressman and hero of limited government advocates will visit the key early primary state of South Carolina on Nov. 9 to deliver a speech "on the future of individual liberty and the importance of the U.S. Constitution" at the University of South Carolina, student groups said Tuesday. The announcement comes a week after Paul scheduled a visit to Iowa on Nov. 13 to speak to students at Iowa State University.

The onetime Republican presidential hopeful finished in fifth place in last year's South Carolina primary, behind Mitt Romney but ahead of former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Other potential 2012 candidates - including Mike Pence, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee - have already visited South Carolina this year or have made plans to do so.

Paul's appearance was organized by the University of South Carolina Honors College, the Carolina Debate Union and Young Americans for Liberty, a student group of Paul supporters.

Sanford's job is safe for the time being.

(CNN) – A Republican legislator in South Carolina moved to introduce a resolution of impeachment against Gov. Mark Sanford on Tuesday during a one-day special session of the state legislature, but his attempt was ruled "out of order" by the Speaker of the House, who said the measure must be submitted at a later date.

Speaker Bobby Harrell, also a Republican, said that state Rep. Greg Delleney will have to wait to offer his impeachment resolution during a so-called "pre-filing" period in November, when lawmakers will be allowed to submit bills in advance of the regular legislative session, which begins in January.

Harrell would then decide which House committee would handle the resolution and potentially build an impeachment case against the governor.

Delleney claimed his measure still has "significant support" among House Republicans and predicted it will get out of committee and to the House floor for a vote in January.

But removing the governor from office ultimately requires a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate. Delleney admitted to CNN that such a vote "is not an easy thing to come by."

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Huckabee's book tour will take him to two crucial primary states.

(CNN) – Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee will visit the key Republican primary states of Iowa and South Carolina next month during a tour to promote his new holiday-themed book.

The Fox News talk show host has planned a three-stop swing through Iowa on Nov. 8 - one day after another potential 2012 candidate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, is scheduled to speak at an Iowa Republican Party event in Des Moines.

Huckabee plans to visit book stores in Cedar Rapids, Davenport and Des Moines to promote the book, "A Simple Christmas: Twelve Stories that Celebrate the True Holiday Spirit." The former presidential candidate has returned to Iowa several times since his win in the Iowa caucuses in January 2008, most recently to raise money for Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats.

Later that week, on Nov. 13, his book tour takes him to the conservative South Carolina upstate, where he'll sign copies of the book in Greenville and Spartanburg.

Also on Huckabee's calendar: five stops in Florida and one stop in evangelical-heavy western Michigan

Rep. Joe Wilson's wife has swine flu.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Rep. Joe Wilson's wife Roxanne has been diagnosed with swine flu, the congressman's office confirmed to CNN on Thursday.

The South Carolina Republican who gained instant notoriety in September for shouting "You lie!" at the president told The Hill newspaper on Thursday that he plans to keep his distance from his wife when he returns home this weekend.

Wilson said he plans to get the H1N1 vaccination soon, but only after "the majority of the American people" receive it.

Rep. Greg Walden, R-Washington, is the only member of Congress to have contracted swine flu. He tweeted the news on Monday, revealing plans to head off to "seclusion for a while" while he recovers.

Rep. Joe Wilson's wife has swine flu.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Rep. Joe Wilson's wife Roxanne has been diagnosed with swine flu, the congressman's office confirmed to CNN on Thursday.

The South Carolina Republican who gained instant notoriety in September for shouting "You lie!" at the president told The Hill newspaper on Thursday that he plans to keep his distance from his wife when he returns home this weekend.

Wilson said he plans to get the H1N1 vaccination soon, but only after "the majority of the American people" receive it.

Rep. Greg Walden, R-Washington, is the only member of Congress to have contracted swine flu. He tweeted the news on Monday, revealing plans to head off to "seclusion for a while" while he recovers.

Mark Sanford had been considering a White House bid before his affair was revealed.

(CNN) – Before an extramarital affair came to light in June that effectively ended his future political ambitions, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford said repeatedly that he was not thinking about running for president in 2012, despite clear indications that he was working to build a national profile among conservatives.

But he admitted Thursday that his once busy itinerary was distracting him from his official duties as governor.

"My life before had become stupidly busy with all of my responsibilities - fundraising, speaking engagements across the country, a book deal," Sanford said in an interview with the Florence Morning News editorial board. "I haven't been this focused on my job in a long time because I don't have all those responsibilities anymore."

"I have my family and whatever's going to happen there," he continued. "And I have my job and whatever's going to happen there. You can drive yourself crazy sitting around thinking about 'the might have beens' of life. I'm here, because I think I can still make a difference."

Sen. Lindsey Graham is being attacked by a $250,000 ad campaign.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – An interest group supported by energy companies is attacking Sen. Lindsey Graham in his own backyard over his willingness to support cap-and-trade legislation.

The Republican has been collaborating with moderate senators to put together bipartisan energy legislation that would link a cap-and-trade program to expanded nuclear energy production and offshore oil and gas drilling. But many in Graham's party view a cap-and-trade program as a tax on energy companies that would be passed along to consumers.

Now the American Energy Alliance, a group funded in part by oil and gas companies that back offshore drilling, is launching a week of radio ads in South Carolina accusing Graham of supporting policies that will weaken the state's already suffering economy.

"So why would Senator Lindsey Graham support new energy taxes called cap-and-trade that will further harm our economy and kill millions of American jobs?" a narrator asks in the radio spot, which went up Thursday. "If that wasn't bad enough, Senator Graham's new energy taxes will have all of us paying more at the pump for a gallon of gas while seeing a 53 percent jump in electricity bills. Who can afford that in this economy?"

The quarter million dollar campaign against Graham will also include television and online ads in the coming weeks.

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Jim Ulmer is the chairman of the Orangeburg County Republican Party.

(CNN) – After his words attracted national attention and drew condemnation from a Jewish state senator, a South Carolina Republican official is now apologizing for co-writing a newspaper op-ed that described Jews as penny-pinchers.

James Ulmer, chairman of the Orangeburg County GOP, said he made a "great error" in the op-ed, which he penned along with Bamberg County GOP chairman Edwin Merwin.

The piece, which ran Sunday in the Orangeburg Times & Democrat, was meant to defend South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint's position against congressional earmarks.

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South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, a Republican, spoke out against the controversial op-ed on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint is denouncing remarks by two Republican officials in his state that were published in a controversial weekend op-ed which included a Jewish stereotype.

The piece, written by South Carolina County GOP chairmen James Ulmer and Edwin Merwin, was intended to defend DeMint's position against congressional earmarks, but it included a line describing Jews as penny-pinchers. Democrats have called on DeMint to denounce the comments.

"I just read the op-ed last night and the comments were thoughtless and hurtful," DeMint said in a statement to CNN Tuesday. "The chairmen have apologized as they should have."

The op-ed was published Sunday in the Orangeburg Times & Democrat.

"There is a saying that the Jews who are wealthy got that way not by watching dollars, but instead by taking care of the pennies and the dollars taking care of themselves," the piece read. "By not using earmarks to fund projects for South Carolina and instead using actual bills, DeMint is watching our nation's pennies and trying to preserve our country's wealth and our economy's viability to give all an opportunity to succeed."

Mark Sanford, a Republican, has refused to resign in the face of criticism from his own party.

(CNN) – A resolution of impeachment against Gov. Mark Sanford is likely to be introduced next week during a special session of the South Carolina legislature, but lawmakers said the governor's job is safe for the time being.

Republican state Rep. Greg Delleney told CNN his resolution lists three charges against Sanford: dereliction of duty for leaving the state to visit his mistress in Argentina in June; attempting to cover-up the scandal; and bringing "disgrace and shame and ridicule" on the state.

"If that is not serious misconduct in office, I don't know what is," Delleney said of Sanford's actions.

The one-day special session was not called to address the Sanford scandal, a point stressed by GOP leadership in both chambers. Instead, lawmakers are meeting to tweak a state law that will extend unemployment benefits for thousands of South Carolinians who began losing those payments over the weekend. The state has an unemployment rate of 11.5 percent.

But most Republicans in the legislature want the governor to resign and several are ready to begin the impeachment process, even as the results of a state Ethics Commission investigation into the governor's travel expenses are still pending.

Delleney said his goal is "to get the ball rolling" on impeachment in a committee before the legislative session officially begins in January, when he hopes the resolution can be quickly brought to the floor for a vote.

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Mark Sanford, a Republican, has refused to resign in the face of criticism from his own party.

(CNN) – A resolution of impeachment against Gov. Mark Sanford is likely to be introduced next week during a special session of the South Carolina legislature, but lawmakers said the governor's job is safe for the time being.

Republican state Rep. Greg Delleney told CNN his resolution lists three charges against Sanford: dereliction of duty for leaving the state to visit his mistress in Argentina in June; attempting to cover-up the scandal; and bringing "disgrace and shame and ridicule" on the state.

"If that is not serious misconduct in office, I don't know what is," Delleney said of Sanford's actions.

The one-day special session was not called to address the Sanford scandal, a point stressed by GOP leadership in both chambers. Instead, lawmakers are meeting to tweak a state law that will extend unemployment benefits for thousands of South Carolinians who began losing those payments over the weekend. The state has an unemployment rate of 11.5 percent.

But most Republicans in the legislature want the governor to resign and several are ready to begin the impeachment process, even as the results of a state Ethics Commission investigation into the governor's travel expenses are still pending.

Delleney said his goal is "to get the ball rolling" on impeachment in a committee before the legislative session officially begins in January, when he hopes the resolution can be quickly brought to the floor for a vote.

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DeMint is running for a second term in 2010.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint's sharp attacks on President Obama - including his memorable line that conservatives can "break" the president by blocking health care reform - have put him in the Democratic crosshairs.

Now national Democrats think they've found the candidate with the best shot at unseating the first term Republican: Chad McGowan, a 38-year-old trial lawyer from conservative York County who officially announced his candidacy on Monday.

Said one Democratic leadership aide in Washington: "Is DeMint more vulnerable than [Richard] Burr or David [Vitter]? Probably not. But McGowan is a self-funder and from the right part of the state. He could give a Republican a run for his money."

McGowan said in an interview with CNN that South Carolina "can do better" than DeMint, but he refrained from any outright attacks against the Republican on the day he jumped in the race. "I don't want to get into bashing any sitting senators at this point," he said. "These races are marathons. I'll just try to keep it positive for now."

DeMint has nearly $3 million in the bank for his campaign, not to mention a loyal network of conservative activists in South Carolina and nationwide willing to support him. McGowan wouldn't say if he plans to contribute his own money to pay for the campaign, but promised to raise "whatever it takes" to win. The last competitive statewide campaign in South Carolina - the 2002 governor's race between Mark Sanford and Jim Hodges - cost more than $12 million.

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Rep. Joe Wilson has raised $2.7 million so far this year, much of it as a result of his outburst.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Rep. Joe Wilson's congressional campaign spent nearly a quarter of a million dollars on an aggressive marketing and fundraising operation in the days after the South Carolina Republican shouted "You Lie!" at President Obama in early September, financial disclosure reports reveal.

So far this year, Wilson has collected about $2.7 million in contributions, most of which came in after the infamous outburst on Sept. 9 turned the little-known congressman into a household name. After the shout, his 2010 campaign organization set out to capitalize on the outpouring of support he received from conservatives around the country.

On Sept. 14, Wilson's campaign doled out $52,250 to the Virginia-based digital communications firm Active Engagement for web design and online advertising. On Sept. 16, the campaign paid $42,400 to retain the David All Group - a Washington-based Republican new media firm - to help boost Wilson's profile on Twitter and other social networking sites.

Piryx, a firm that processes online donations, received $72,007 from the campaign in September. Wilson's team also spent nearly $30,000 to rent a mailing list from the Richard Norman Company, a conservative fundraising organization in northern Virginia.

All told, the Wilson campaign spent roughly $235,000 on services related to fundraising and communications strategy.

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Republican attorney Tim Griffin is running for Congress in Arkansas.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Tim Griffin, the former U.S. Attorney and Karl Rove aide now running for Congress in Arkansas, has "scaled back" his relationship with his own political consulting firm because of his campaign, according to an aide.

But Griffin has not completely cut his ties with the firm, which has recently taken in tens of thousands of dollars from at least one other Republican office-seeker.

The Bush administration veteran, who was once described by the late columnist Robert Novak as "a leading practitioner of opposition research," founded his Little Rock-based firm in 2007 after resigning his post as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Griffin's tenure with the Justice Department was rocky - questions surfaced as to whether Rove urged the dismissal of Griffin's predecessor and other U.S. Attorneys for political reasons.

Griffin, who also has a law firm in Little Rock, announced his bid to challenge Democrat Rep. Vic Snyder last month. Before jumping into the race, his firm, Griffin Public Affairs LLC, took in three payments totaling more than $30,000 from the campaign of Gresham Barrett, the South Carolina GOP congressman now running for governor in that state.

Emily Wood, a spokesman for Griffin, said the Republican "still has Griffin Public Affairs, LLC, but has scaled back his work because of his congressional campaign." She said the firm "generally provides communications and policy services," but does not disclose details of its work for clients.

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