She’s out. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., announced Monday that she will not enter the special election for the U.S. Senate seat previously held by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, ending speculation that she would launch a second statewide campaign following her unsuccessful bid for governor.
“I’m not running for the U.S. Senate, not because I’m backing down from a fight, but because the one I’m already in matters right now,” Mace said in a video posted to social media.
Mace had been considering a Senate campaign after Graham’s death on July 11 opened an unexpected path back into statewide politics. Her decision comes roughly six weeks after she finished a distant fifth in South Carolina’s Republican gubernatorial primary, a result that left her political future uncertain, explained Politico.
Because Mace sought the Republican nomination for governor rather than reelection to her Charleston-area House seat, her current term in Congress will end in January. Her announcement means she is expected to leave elected office after serving three terms in the House.
I'm not running for the Senate – because I have some unfinished business. Since I stood on that House floor, I've been fighting for every woman and girl who was told to stay silent. I want justice – and that day is coming.
Thank you for all your support, all the calls and texts.… pic.twitter.com/YtKmuuznP9
— Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) July 20, 2026
Mace framed the decision as a choice to continue advocating for women rather than immediately pursuing another office. Referring to her own experiences and her work on issues involving violence and abuse, she said “the laws meant to protect me and other women failed us, and I won’t stop until that changes.”
The congresswoman also made clear that she does not intend to withdraw from public debate after leaving Congress.
“Serving South Carolina has been the honor of my life, and I will continue to voice our values everywhere I can; I’m even going to shit post from time to time, because someone has to call out the dumbasses,” Mace said.
Her decision removes one of South Carolina’s best-known Republican figures from a rapidly developing Senate contest.
Sen. Darline Graham Nordone, Graham’s sister, announced Monday that she will seek a full term after Gov. Henry McMaster appointed her to serve the remainder of her brother’s current term. President Donald Trump endorsed Nordone before she formally entered the race.
Republican Reps. Russell Fry and Ralph Norman have also entered the contest, setting up a compressed primary campaign in which several candidates will compete for the support of South Carolina’s conservative electorate. So has Darlene Graham, the recently appointed senator who has replaced her brother in the Senate.
The filing period for the special Republican primary opens Tuesday and closes July 28. The primary will be held Aug. 11, followed by an Aug. 25 runoff if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote.
The eventual Republican nominee will be heavily favored in November. Democrats have not won a U.S. Senate election in South Carolina since 1998, and the state has become increasingly reliable for Republicans in federal races.
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