Former Gov. Mark Sanford is up with his first TV ad in his bid for South Carolina's 1st congressional district, appealing to voters and a "God of second chances."

"I've experienced how none of us go through life without mistakes. But in their wake we can learn a lot about grace, a God of second chances and be the better for it," Sanford says in the ad.

It's all part of a campaign to rehabilitate his political career after it seemed to end in scandal. When he was governor, Sanford disappeared for days, with staff first saying he was hiking the Appalachian Trail before Sanford himself acknowledged he had in fact gone to Argentina to visit his mistress.

Sanford was married at the time -- and he used taxpayer money to pay for another trip to South America when he visited his lover. He eventually reimbursed the state for the costs.

Sanford is now engaged to the Argentine woman, Maria Belen Chapur. 

Sanford is one of 16 Republicans running in the primary to replace now-Sen. Tim Scott. His ex-wife, Jenny Sanford, considered a bid for the seat before deciding not to run.

The district, in South Carolina's Lowcountry, is strongly Republican, and the winner of the GOP primary is likely to end up in Congress.

Still, the race is drawing attention from both sides of the aisle: Elizabeth Colbert Busch, the sister of comedian Stephen Colbert, is running for the seat as a Democrat.