Nancy Mace's unpredictable career is up in the air after finishing last
in South Carolina primary
[June 11, 2026]
By JEFFREY COLLINS and MEG KINNARD
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — After a decade of roiling South Carolina and
national politics, Rep. Nancy Mace finished a distant fifth in her
state's Republican primary for governor, leaving an uncertain future for
one of the nation's unabashed politicians.
Her campaign mirrored her whipsaw career. Mace courted the support of
President Donald Trump after harshly criticizing him over the Jan. 6,
2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. She emphasized her fights with other
Republicans to release files from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.
In the final days before Tuesday's primary, she called for a law to
prevent anyone not born in the U.S. from holding political office or
serving as a judge. She suggested that Rom Reddy, another candidate for
governor, wasn't qualified because he was a naturalized citizen whose
mother was from India and father from Italy.
“I didn’t come out of a slum in India,” Mace said during an appearance
in Greenville County this month. “I am born and made here in America.”
By the end of her campaign, she was only making sporadic public
appearances. She struggled to raise money and had no presence on
television. Mace mostly communicated through social media — a place she
has used to her advantage since first being elected to the South
Carolina House in 2017.
Mace didn't give an indication of her next plans in her concession
speech Tuesday night, although she posted Wednesday on social media that
she was “headed back to the private sector” at the end of her current
House term. She is backing Alan Wilson in the runoff for governor, even
though just last year she accused Wilson of protecting child sex abuse
defendants.
“When children needed him to act, Wilson looked the other way," she
said.
Wilson will face Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette in the runoff on June 23. Evette
received Trump's endorsement, spurring Mace to lash out on social media.
“Pamela Evette is NOT ENDORSED by DONALD TRUMP,” Mace wrote,
incorrectly. “Do not believe her LIES.” Mace posted an AI-generated
image of herself posing with Trump.
Where does Mace stand with Trump?
Mace’s history with Trump goes back a decade, and, like many
Republicans, it’s had its ups and downs.
She worked as a field director on Trump's 2016 campaign, and he endorsed
her first congressional run in 2020, albeit after she won the Republican
nomination.
But their rapport fractured as soon as Mace got to Washington. After the
freshman House member sought to hold Trump accountable for Jan. 6 and
said his “entire legacy” had been “wiped out,” he labeled Mace as
“crazy” and solicited primary challengers to take her on. Trump endorsed
and campaigned for one of them, but Mace — with future Trump co-campaign
manager Chris LaCivita as her media consultant — won anyway, and Trump
went on to support her general election bid.
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U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., takes questions from reporters
following a South Carolina gubernatorial GOP candidate debate on
April 1, in Newberry, S.C. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard, File)
As Trump sought to return to the White House in 2024, Mace didn’t
endorse him over former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley until a day
before the New Hampshire primary.
Mace lauded Trump during a primetime Republican National Convention
speech and, after winning her own reelection, branded herself as
“Trump in high heels” during the early days of her gubernatorial
campaign.
But another fracture was on the horizon. This spring, while angling
for Trump’s endorsement, Mace was among several Republicans who
joined congressional Democrats to force the Justice Department to
release files related to Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump went on to back Evette, saying she had “never wavered” in her
support of him. Evette had endorsed Trump early in the 2024
campaign.
Four congressional Republicans were part of the initial group
pushing for a discharge petition forcing the files’ release. Mace
and Rep. Thomas Massie lost their races, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor
Greene resigned in January.
In a lengthy statement posted after her Tuesday loss, Mace said she
had “taken on the rich and powerful in both parties” and “voted to
release the Epstein files and lost some support for that.”
From Waffle House to The Citadel to Congress
Mace dropped out of high school and worked as a server at the Waffle
House before getting her diploma. She later attended The Citadel and
became the first woman to graduate from the state’s military
academy. And in recent years, she talked about the importance of
defending victims of sexual assault and shared stories of being
raped as a teen.
After her political career began in the South Carolina House, Mace
got wide praise from Republicans in 2020 for winning back a U.S.
House seat around Charleston that had flipped to Democrats for one
term.
“For those folks that are out there today that maybe weren’t with us
yesterday, I’m asking for a chance — a chance to prove to you that I
will be a compassionate leader, a good listener, an independent
thinker,” Mace said then.
___
Kinnard reported from Washington. Bill Barrow contributed from
Atlanta.
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