Nancy Mace’s political future is uncertain after the outspoken South Carolina congresswoman finished a distant fifth in the Republican primary for governor, ending a campaign that once appeared capable of disrupting the race.
Mace, who has represented the Charleston area in Congress since 2021, wrote Wednesday that she was “headed back to the private sector” after her House term ends.
Her defeat marked a sharp reversal. A May poll from the Republican firm co/efficient showed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette leading the crowded field with 19%, followed closely by Mace at 18%. Attorney General Alan Wilson registered 15%.
At the time, some Trump allies were concerned Mace could advance to a runoff despite her disagreements with President Donald Trump.
“Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman sabotaged Trump when it mattered most. Their reward shouldn’t be the governor’s mansion,” a source close to the White House said at the time.
Mace’s campaign also benefited from nearly $500,000 in support from a super PAC aligned with Sen. Rand Paul. But her momentum faded. She struggled to raise money, held few public events and lacked a significant television advertising presence.
Her campaign leaned heavily on social media and on her role in the congressional push to release documents connected to Jeffrey Epstein.
The issue placed Mace in direct conflict with Attorney General Pam Bondi. In February, Mace called for Bondi to testify before the House Oversight Committee after a Reuters photograph appeared to show the attorney general holding a document labeled “Jayapal Pramila Search History” during a House Judiciary Committee hearing.
“In the Judiciary Committee, she had a folder open, and you saw an image of a search history of a member of Congress in the software in the database,” Mace stated. “Why is the DOJ—why is the attorney general carrying around a folder of the search histories of members of Congress who only simply want the truth? She should answer for that, and I think she should come before the Oversight Committee, because I have a lot of tough questions.”
The confrontation further complicated Mace’s effort to win Trump’s endorsement. Trump ultimately backed Evette.
Mace initially disputed the endorsement.
“Pamela Evette is NOT ENDORSED by DONALD TRUMP,” Mace wrote, incorrectly. “Do not believe her LIES.”
In the closing stretch, Mace also proposed barring anyone not born in the United States from holding elected office or serving as a judge. She questioned the eligibility of fellow candidate Rom Reddy, a naturalized citizen.
“I didn’t come out of a slum in India,” Mace said. “I am born and made here in America.”
After her defeat, Mace endorsed Wilson, despite accusing him last year of failing to act in child sex abuse cases.
“When children needed him to act, Wilson looked the other way,” she said.
Wilson will face Evette in the June 23 runoff.
Mace’s relationship with Trump has shifted repeatedly. She worked on his 2016 campaign, later received his endorsement and then criticized him after the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack, saying his “entire legacy” had been “wiped out.” Trump later called her “crazy.”
Following her primary loss, Mace defended her record, saying she had “taken on the rich and powerful in both parties” and “voted to release the Epstein files and lost some support for that.”
Her fifth-place finish may now mark the end of one of South Carolina’s most unpredictable political careers.
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