Former South Carolina governor and congressman Mark Sanford Mark SanfordOn The Money: Business world braces for blue sweep | Federal Reserve chief to outline plans for inflation, economy | Meadows 'not optimistic' about stalemate on coronavirus deal Trump critic Sanford forms anti-debt advocacy group Republicans officially renominate Trump for president MORE is delaying his announcement on whether he’ll run against President Trump Donald John TrumpFederal prosecutor speaks out, says Barr 'has brought shame' on Justice Dept. Former Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick MORE in 2020 as a Republican, The Post and Courier reports.

In an interview published Monday, Sanford told the paper that he and the nation are currently focused on Hurricane Dorian and that he’ll wait until after the dust settles from the storm to announce his decision.

“As Governor he dealt with many storm preparations, and given the gravity of this storm, he encourages residents along the East Coast to pay heed to the warnings and declarations of state and county emergency operation teams,” Sanford’s team said in a news release, according to the newspaper.

The hurricane, which reached Category 5 status on Sunday but has since been downgraded to a Category 4 storm, is headed toward the southern U.S., with South Carolina among several in a state of emergency and likely to face heavy winds.

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Sanford previously said he would give himself until Labor Day to make a choice. Since announcing his potential White House bid the former lawmaker has visited New Hampshire and Iowa, causing further speculation.

Sanford’s possible presidential run comes just over a year after he lost a House primary in a contentious reelection bid that was seen as a referendum on his criticism of Trump, who had urged voters to reject Sanford in the days leading up to the June 2018 primary.

If he jumps into the race, Sanford faces near-impossible odds in the effort to defeat Trump and become the Republican nominee for president.

If he decides to challenge Trump, he would join two other Republicans vying for the GOP presidential nomination: former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld William (Bill) WeldRalph Gants, chief justice of Massachusetts supreme court, dies at 65 The Hill's Campaign Report: Biden visits Kenosha | Trump's double-voting suggestion draws fire | Facebook clamps down on election ads Biden picks up endorsements from nearly 100 Republicans MORE and former Illinois congressman Joe Walsh Joe WalshSunday shows preview: Protests continue over shooting of Blake; coronavirus legislation talks remain at impasse Republicans officially renominate Trump for president Tucker Carlson responds to guest correcting pronunciation of Kamala Harris's name: 'So what?' MORE.