Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) “has cleared another hurdle in his bid for a political comeback, defeating a former county council member to win the GOP nomination for a vacant U.S. House seat,” the AP reports.

Roll Call: “It is unclear how difficult the path ahead will be for Sanford in the general election. Some South Carolina Republicans insist that this is a solidly conservative district and that the idea of a Democratic winner is unfathomable.”

But the Democratic nominee, Elizabeth Colbert Busch (D), released an internal poll that showed she had a narrow lead over Sanford, though Stu Rothenberg is skeptical.

President Obama “doesn’t plan to weigh in on the Los Angeles mayoral race because it pits two Democrats against each other,” the Los Angeles Times reports.

“The news is a blow for Eric Garcetti, who has emphasized his ties to Obama during his candidacy. Garcetti recently sent out mailers to black voters featuring a picture of himself with Obama.”

Bill Clinton endorsed rival Wendy Greuel last month.

Roll Call:
“For a candidate known for one of the past decade’s most colossal
political mistakes, former Gov. Mark Sanford has run a nearly flawless
campaign for the 1st District. As a result, Sanford is on track to win
the Republican runoff and maintains a solid position in the special
election for the coastal, GOP-leaning district.”

First Read: “Following American politics can be fascinating… You can’t make this up.”

Politico: “Voters here have heard all the reasons to keep former Gov. Mark Sanford retired from politics. He’s damaged goods. He risks handing a safe Republican congressional seat to the sister of liberal comedian Stephen Colbert. The 1st Congressional District needs a conservative who lives the talk instead of issuing apologies.”

“Yet, Sanford appears to be on the cusp of clinching the Republican nomination Tuesday for the right to take on Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch in a May 7 special election that’s sure to become a national spectacle.”

The State profiles Elizabeth Colbert Busch.

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) “failed to disclose for nearly a year that he had substantial stock holdings in a company, even though disclosure is required by law and his office was defending the state in a tax lawsuit filed by the company,” the Washington Post reports.

“Cuccinelli, the presumptive Republican nominee for governor, said through a campaign consultant that the attorney general did not disclose his interest in Star Scientific because he didn’t realize that his holdings exceeded $10,000, the threshold for disclosure under state law.”

A new Harper Polling survey in New Jersey finds Gov. Chris Christie (R) crushing challenger Barbara Buono (D) in the race for governor, 58% to 28%.

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino (D) will announce at a press conference “that he will not seek a sixth term in office,” the Boston Globe reports.

“Menino arrived at his decision late last week and weighed it for the last several days to be sure he felt comfortable following through, the officials said. He plans to tell most of his aides and advisers Thursday morning. A grim mood rippled through City Hall as municipal workers speculated about what could be coming.”

A new Quinnipiac poll in Virginia finds Ken Cuccinelli (R) edging Terry McAuliffe (D) in the race for governor, 40% to 38%, but neither is well-known to voters.

The decision by Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling that he would not run for governor as an independent has had no effect on matchup as the current dead heat is the same as two previous surveys this year.

Said pollster Peter Brown: “Neither candidate for governor is that well known to voters although Cuccinelli has a small edge in that department. Because of their relatively low profiles at this point, the horse race numbers pretty much reflect a generic Democratic-Republican race.”

A new Public Policy Polling survey in South Carolina’s 1st congressional district finds Elizabeth Colbert Busch (D) leading Mark Sanford (R), 47% to 45% and deadlocked with Curtis Bostic (R), 43% to 43%.

Key findings: “Democrats are far more unified than the Republicans are. Busch is winning 87-89% of the Democratic vote while Sanford (76%) and Bostic (72%) are both earning less than 80% of the GOP vote. Busch is also up by 16-18 points with independent voters.”

In next week’s GOP runoff, Sanford leads Bostic by double-digits, 53% to 40%.

As she pursues a high-profile bid for New York City mayor, the New York Times reports that Christine Quinn (D) “has proudly promoted her boisterous personality, hoping that voters will embrace her blend of brashness and personal charm.”

“But in private, friends and colleagues say, another Ms. Quinn can emerge: controlling, temperamental and surprisingly volatile, with a habit of hair-trigger eruptions of unchecked, face-to-face wrath. She has threatened, repeatedly, to slice off the private parts of those who cross her.”

A new Quinnipiac finds that New Jersey voters, by overwhelming margins, approve of the job Gov. Chris Christie (R) is doing, 70% to 23%, and want him to keep doing it for four more years.

In his re-election race, Christie leads State Sen. Barbara Buono (D) by a stunning 60% to 25%.

Former President Bill Clinton endorsed Wendy Greuel for Los Angeles mayor, the Los Angeles Times reports.

“Clinton has often endorsed people who have been loyal to his family, either helpful during his time at the White House or supporters of his wife’s unsuccessful 2008 presidential run. Greuel fits both categories — in addition to being an early and active backer of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, she worked in the Clinton administration at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.”

Larry Grooms (R) conceded a spot in South Carolina’s special GOP primary runoff to Curtis Bostic (R).

But The State reports “opinions are split” on whether Bostic can make the mammoth jump from winning 13% of the vote Tuesday to defeating Mark Sanford (R), who captured 37%.

John Fund says that many believe former Gov. Mark Sanford (R) could lose the congressional special election — assuming he wins an upcoming runoff — “to a Democrat — especially a business-oriented woman such as Colbert Busch. Her platform is pitched perfectly toward moderates: protecting retirement benefits, an expansion of engineering and science education and reducing the deficit by eliminating waste.”

Said pollster Pat Caddell: “If Sanford is the final GOP candidate he could lose a 58 percent Romney district based on his weakness with women voters over the affair he had while governor.”

The Week: Is Mark Sanford vs. Stephen Colbert’s sister political gold?

Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) advanced to a runoff in the Republican contest for an open congressional seat, “taking a step toward reviving a political career that was derailed by an extramarital affair while he was governor,” The State reports.

Sanford will face either Curtis Bostic (R) or Larry Grooms (R) who are locked in a tight race for second place.

The eventual Republican candidate will square off in the May 7 general election against Elizabeth Colbert Busch (D), the sister of comedian Stephen Colbert.

John Avlon: “South Carolina politics is a full-contact spectator sport, and the 18-candidate special election on Tuesday is shaping up to be a scrum for the ages, with low blows and high expectations. This is an old-fashioned street fight in a state where the Tea Party, evangelicals, and the New South all intersect.”

Poll close at 7 pm ET and First Read notes “only about 30,000 voters are expected to participate in the special primary.”

Comedian Stephen Colbert is dropping his right-wing pundit act to help his sister’s congressional campaign in South Carolina, telling CNN he’s happy to make an exception for her.

Said Colbert: “She’s my sister, and I’m willing to, you know, break the jewel of my own creation to try to do something for her. I’m not worried what it would do to me or my show to try to help her as myself, not as my character, and to help her as myself.”

Roll Call reports that Tuesday’s primary will be the first, but not final, test of whether South Carolina Republicans are ready to forgive former Gov. Mark Sanford (R).

“Sanford, a staunch conservative attempting to shake off his infamous ‘Appalachian Trail‘ legacy, faces 15 other Republicans on the primary ballot for the special election to represent the coastal, GOP-leaning seat. He is all but certain to come in first, but taking less than 50 percent of votes cast. That will send Sanford, a former three-term congressman, to an April runoff with another Republican.”