60 SC House Republicans call on governor to resign

[September 10, 2009]  COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Sixty South Carolina House Republicans are asking Gov. Mark Sanford to resign.

A letter asking the GOP governor to leave office was delivered to Sanford shortly after noon Wednesday.

It follows one sent a day earlier by House Speaker Bobby Harrell asking for Sanford's resignation.

Any move to impeach the governor would begin in the House, which has 73 Republicans and 51 Democrats.

Calls for Sanford to resign or be impeached have grown since June, when he returned from a secret trip to Argentina and revealed a yearlong affair with a woman there. The State Ethics Commission is investigating his travel.

Sanford has said he has no plans to quit. He has been seeking traction for his legislative agenda in his final 16 months in office.

[Associated Press; By JIM DAVENPORT]

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.