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Caught Our Eye

Sanford takes post-election trip to Tanzania

Posted by Jenna Ebersole on Nov. 25, 2014

As Republicans prepared to solidify their newfound power in Washington, Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) pulled a disappearing act after election day to commune with nature.

But this time, his travels took him to Africa instead of Appalachia.

The International Conservation Caucus Foundation financed a $6,235 trip for Sanford and his son to Tanzania, where he visited the Serengeti National Park and attended meetings on poaching and the environment, according to a disclosure. The week-long trip, two months after Sanford announced his break-up with his fiancé and onetime mistress on Facebook, began the day after election day.

The foundation has spent about $100,000 so far this year on trips for members of Congress and their staffs, with travels to Costa Rica, Colombia, Mozambique and South Africa.

Sanford's Tanzania trip was his second in 2014 after a shorter-distance trip to Richmond, Va., with the Heritage Foundation. He also visited Israel last year on a privately financed trip with then-fiancé Maria Belén Chapur.

The two split up in September amidst continued contention between Sanford and his ex-wife, with Sanford reportedly delaying the wedding. The former governor disappeared for several days in 2009, prompting a spokesperson to claim he was hiking the Appalachian Trail. Sanford later admitted he had been visiting Chapur in Argentina.