Former three-term Congressman Marshall Sanford, Jr., known as Mark, was elected to South Carolina's 1st District seat in 1994 with a background in real estate finance and investment and no prior political experience. The native South Carolinian decided to run for the House at the young age of 34, when Arthur Ravenel, then the 1st District incumbent, made a bid for governor.

During his 1994 campaign, Sanford focused on his status as a Washington outsider, calling for term limits and saying "citizen-legislators" needed to replace career politicians in Washington.

To that end, he pledged to serve only three terms, to take no political action committee money, to vote for no tax increases and to refuse any salary increase until the government had balanced the nation's budget. He won the election with 66 percent of the vote.

Once elected, Sanford supported the GOP's Contract with America, for the most part developing a moderate voting record and challenging the Republican leadership when he saw fit. He voted against several resolutions that had nearly unanimous support, such as the December 1998 resolution to bomb Iraq.

In June 1998, he voted against a bill ensuring the preservation of sites important to the Underground Railroad. In September 1997, he voted against a defense appropriation that included funds for Charleston harbor. Against conventional political wisdom, Sanford has long advocated replacing part of Social Security with individual retirement accounts.

Sanford served on the International Relations Committee, and was on the Africa and Western Hemisphere subcommittees. He also sat on the Government Reform and Oversight Committee, focusing on Government Management, Information & Technology, and the Postal Service, and was a member of the Joint Economic and the Science Committees.

He had no Republican opponents in 1996 or 1998, and won his 1996 election bid with 96 percent of the vote. In 1998 he was re-elected over a Natural Law party candidate who sells shirts and perfume. He retired from the House in 2000, in keeping with his three-term promise.

Sanford grew up on a farm in Beaufort County, South Carolina, where he attended high school. He went on to earn a bachelor's degree in Business from Furman University, and later an master's degree in business administration from the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business. He has owned Norton and Sanford real estate investment firm since 1992, and lives on the coast of South Carolina with his wife and four sons.

--By Jessica Moore, Online NewsHour