CHARLESTON, S.C. - A memorable argument with Gov. Mark Sanford's wife, Jenny, and a $211,000 campaign debt overshadow state Sen. John Kuhn's failed re-election bid.

Kuhn found himself fighting for his political future against Chip Campsen, a former Sanford aide and longtime family friend of the governor. In the end, he joined growing ranks of incumbents losing their Statehouse seats to primary challengers this year.

"What's discouraging to me is to realize near the end of the campaign we were running against the governor," Kuhn told the Post and Courier for a story in Friday's editions.

And there was the much-publicized episode where Kuhn questioned Jenny Sanford about a $1,000 contribution she made to Campsen, prompting a confrontation in the halls of the Statehouse.

If he'd had a better sense of the power of that link, Kuhn said he wouldn't have borrowed and tapped family savings for billboards, mailing and broadcast ads for his campaign.

"Had I known from the start that the governor was going to be so involved in supporting my opponent, I'm confident that I would not have put $211,000 of my personal money in," Kuhn said.

"Basically, I've lost $211,000," he said. "We've got a problem. I'm going to have to take this out of my personal funds. It's breaking me."

Sanford's office said Thursday, as it did in the weeks before the primary and runoff that pitted Campsen against Kuhn, that the governor was neutral in the contest. Campsen won the runoff with 57 percent of the vote and will face Democratic newcomer Constance Anastopoulo in November.

"To try to blame his own campaign's financial mismanagement and bad consulting decisions on the governor is just sour grapes," Sanford's spokesman Will Folks said.

There's no doubt it was an expensive primary and may have set a new record. Campaign finance reports filed this week with the Senate Ethics Committee show the three Republicans in the race raised or lent their campaigns a combined $658,000.

Senate Ethics Chairman Wes Hayes, R-Rock Hill, said that figure may be on the "high side" for a competitive Statehouse primary, but he added elections are getting more expensive every year. "A lot of things that previously were done grass roots are now being done professionally," he said, mentioning advertising, phone banks and direct mail. "And that costs money."

Campsen raised about $203,500, records show, and has no campaign debt. Charleston City Councilman Henry Fishburne, raised about $95,300 in individual contributions with about $36,700 in personal funds thrown in. He came in third in the primary.

Kuhn's debt includes about $50,000 in cash from family savings with the rest in loans secured from a local bank. While he hopes the Republican Party will help him retire the debt, he's not optimistic. "If you don't have the support of the party, it's going to be a miserable failure," he said.

For now, the GOP is focused on fund-raising for the fall and winning those elections, state executive director Luke Byars said. Helping losing incumbents would be handled later on a "case by case basis," he said.

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Information from: The Post and Courier, http://www.charleston.net/