Here they come again: Campaign season never ends

Just when you thought it was safe to watch television commercials again, this relatively new year turns out to be an election year, too.

Well, at least it is in South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District.

Never mind that the district’s voters elected Rep. Tim Scott to a second term by a wide margin in November. Gov. Nikki Haley has, in effect, promoted Rep. Scott to Sen. Scott as the replacement for Jim DeMint, who resigned with four years left in his second term to become president of the Heritage Foundation.

That leaves the 1st District House job open.

So what was supposed to be a non-election year now includes another trial by campaign-advertising ordeal for voters leading up to a special election for that vacant seat.

Make that special elections.

Primaries for the 1st District seat are set for March 19, with runoffs, if needed, on April 2, and the general election on May 7.

And this congressional race will make news far beyond our district and state due in large part to the attempted political comeback of Mark Sanford.

As governor, Mr. Sanford became a national punch line of sorts in 2009 — along with his ill-advised uses of the terms “Appalachian Trail” and “soulmate.”

Now he’s jumping back into the electoral fray, putting his unbeaten office-seeking record (3-0 in U.S. House races, 2-0 in governor’s races) on the line.

Mr. Sanford apparently will face no fewer than nine opponents in the Republican primary. And though the GOP has held the 1st District seat for 32 years (including six by Mr. Sanford), there likely will be some Democrats joining the field before the Jan. 28 filing deadline.

So brace for another round of politician-approved broadcast “messages” seeking your vote.

And though our respite from the often grimy political process has been cut painfully short, look on this bright — and civic-duty — side:

First District voters will get another chance to make a well-informed choice about who represents them in Washington.