Mark Sanford invokes Alamo, says he's 'outnumbered'

• Former S.C. governor locked in battle for House seat
• House GOP campaign committee withdrew support after ex-wife accused Sanford of trespassing
• Sanford has accused Democratic allies of Elizabeth Colbert Busch of trying to buy seat

Republican Mark Sanford compared himself to William Travis at the Alamo, saying he is under siege and "outnumbered" as he tries to win a special election for Congress.

The disgraced ex-governor of South Carolina launched a district-wide tour Monday to engage Democratic rival Elizabeth Colbert Busch in their House race. But it is Sanford's full-page ad in The Post and Courier newspaper on Sunday, explaining to readers what had been a "tough week," that raised eyebrows.

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) last week abandoned Sanford, whose political career was derailed by an extramarital affair in 2009, and withdrew financial support for his House race in the GOP stronghold. A day earlier, it was revealed that Jenny Sanford accused her ex-husband in court filings of trespassing at her home in violation of their divorce agreement.

Mark Sanford repeated in the Charleston newspaper ad that he was at Jenny Sanford's beach house to watch the Super Bowl with their 14-year-old son. He went on to criticize Democrats who are attacking him in campaign commercials and their party's efforts to help Colbert Busch, who has agreed to only one joint forum before the May 7 election.

Travis at the Alamo, Sanford wrote, "ultimately inspired Texans to come to the aid of their brethren and defeat Santa Anna's army though they were outnumbered at the onset by six to one. I'm outnumbered right now, but will fight to the end toward freedom and financial sanity in Washington to sustaining it."

Kristin Sosanie, a spokeswoman for the South Carolina Democratic Party, criticized Sanford's ad.

"Only in Mark Sanford's narcissistic world would this rough week be all about him and not the people of Boston or Texas," Sosanie said Monday in a statement. "As we've seen again and again, the people of South Carolina just can't trust him to stand up for our values."

One historical slip up by Sanford: He cites the fall of the Alamo as occurring in March of 1863. It actually happened on 1836.

Sanford on Monday focused on what he called Colbert Busch's "stealth campaign." He denounced what he called nearly $1 million in spending by Democratic groups in the race, and called on local TV stations to carry their April 29 debate live. Sanford plans to make 15 campaign stops at small businesses over the next five days to state his case.

"What my opponent is in essence doing is asking voters to make their decisions based upon false and misleading ads being aired by Nancy Pelosi and national Democrats, and I think that's a real disservice to the people that Colbert Busch is seeking to represent," Sanford said. "We are going to give my opponent plenty of opportunities over the remainder of the campaign to debate the issues in person, and we're hopeful that she agrees to do so."

Colbert Busch's campaign, meanwhile, highlighted Sanford's opposition to the Export-Import Bank, which helps finance and insure foreign purchases of U.S.-made goods. Sanford says the attack is "false on its face."