Mark Sanford announces to challenge Trump in Republican primary

Mark Sanford has announced on Sunday that he would challenge President Donald Trump in the Republican primary in 2020.

"I am here to tell you now that I am going to get in," Sanford said on Fox News Sunday. He said he wants to put an emphasis on combating the ever-increasing federal debt and increased government spending.

The former South Carolina Congressman is apparently the third Republican to challenge Trump.

Sanford joins former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld and former Representative Joe Walsh as the most prominent candidates mounting long-shot primary challenges to DonaldTrump, who continues to enjoy overwhelming support among the Grand Old Party (GOP).

Sanford, 59, a longtime Trump critic, lost his seat in the House of Representatives last year after he was challenged by a Trump supporter in the Republican primary.

Responding to a tweet by Trump about his "94% approval in the Republican Party", Sanford tweeted around a week ago, "So ready for a President that can move beyond either self-praise or put down to one who will focus on the debt & deficit that have gone wild under his time in office. Spending 27 percent above Obama and deficits even higher. It's time for a change."

Trump remains popular within the Republican Party and any effort to unseat him from becoming the nominee would be a long shot.