2010 Gubernatorial Candidacy
Ford ran to succeed Mark Sanford as Governor of South Carolina in the 2010 gubernatorial election. His platform included reinstating video poker to the state to generate returns from taxes on the gaming industry in an effort to balance the state budget, something he has proposed since the late 1990s. A law Ford sponsored in 2008 to make gambling legal failed to advance; he planned a voter referendum to repeal the ban. Ford faced state senator Vincent A. Sheheen of Camden and State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex in a primary election. Sheheen's campaign has raised $33,000 as of January 2009, while Ford's campaign raised $6,000. On June 8, 2010, Ford finished in third place in the primary election with 18 percent of the vote.
Read more about this topic: Robert Ford (politician)