So now Sanford, after a hard-won partial recovery from the problems he made for himself in 2009, has created all sorts of new, and very public, problems for himself in 2014. And they are likely to continue. Sanford now has two media-savvy women mad at him; they are unlikely to remain silent.

Sanford was the butt of a million jokes during the hiking-the-Appalachian-trail affair. Now, even as he asks South Carolinians for their votes again, many will be mocking him for turning his romantic travails into a very public melodrama. And of course, Sanford has no one to blame but himself.

And there’s no telling where all this could lead politically. Yes, Sanford is running unopposed, meaning he is certain to win re-election. But what about the future? On Sunday morning, the blogger Allahpundit tweeted: “The Sanford saga can only end with Jenny primarying Mark and Maria endorsing her.” Given everything that has happened, why not?