S.C. governor cancels state meetings for trip with wife

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford has cleared his schedule this week to take a personal trip with his wife, three weeks after announcing his affair with an Argentine woman.

Spokesman Joel Sawyer said Wednesday the governor would take off the rest of this week for a trip out of state with first lady Jenny Sanford. Sawyer said state meetings Sanford had scheduled this week have been postponed until next week.

The governor and first lady have said they are trying to reconcile. They have been married 20 years.

Sanford left the state June 18, returning six days later. He admitted to an extramarital affair with a woman he called his “soul mate” and said he misled his staff into thinking he was hiking on the Appalachian Trail.