MAGA ally Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) made a big career announcement on Monday that is sure to shake up President Donald Trump’s base.
Mace said she was throwing her hat into the South Carolina gubernatorial race, one that already features a growing field of candidates.
In announcing her bid, Mace said she “is tired of politicians who smile for the cameras, lie to your face, and then vanish when it’s time to lead.”
“I’m not one of them,” she added. “I’m running for governor because South Carolina doesn’t need another empty suit. It needs a governor who will fight for you and your values.”
She outlined a platform that called for freezing the state’s general fund spending at approximately $11.6 billion, requiring each state agency to reduce its budget by 3% to 4% annually, expanding access to vocational and trade schools, and defunding any office, agency, or department that refuses to comply with state or federal law, CNN reported.
Mace is currently serving her third term in Congress. Once a vocal critic of Donald Trump, she has since aligned herself closely with the president. Her campaign launch video emphasized her pro-Trump credentials, including a clip of Trump praising her as a “fighter.”
She is expected to face a former prosecutor in the Republican primary, whom she has accused of mishandling an investigation into her ex-fiancé, whom she alleged earlier this year had abused her.
Other GOP contenders in the race include South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and Rep. Ralph Norman, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, CNN added.
Mace, 47, made history in 1999 as the first female cadet to graduate from The Citadel, South Carolina’s military college. She began her political career in 2018 with a seat in the South Carolina House of Representatives and was elected to Congress in 2020 after flipping a Democratic-held district.
In 2021, Mace was among seven House Republicans who signed a letter asserting that Congress lacked the authority to overturn the 2020 election results in Trump’s favor. She was also sharply critical of Trump’s involvement in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol that same year, CNN noted.
“I want to be a new voice for the Republican Party, and that’s one of the reasons I’ve spoken out so strongly against the president, against these QAnon conspiracy theorists that led us in a constitutional crisis,” Mace said in 2021. “It’s just wrong and we’ve got to put a stop to it.”
But she also “described the impeachment process against Trump, however, as flawed and rushed and voted against impeaching him,” the outlet noted further. Trump eventually went on to endorse a primary challenger to Mace in 2022, but she won that race.
Since then, Mace has become a staunch ally of Trump, particularly on issues tied to the ongoing culture wars. During the 2024 election cycle, she and Trump offered mutual endorsements in support of each other’s campaigns.
On Tuesday, Mace pushed back on allegations that she is too combative to be a governor.
“In fact, these fights are worth fighting for, whether we’re talking about illegal immigration or men in women’s spaces or, in my case, in the state of South Carolina, we have the highest state income tax in the southeast,” she said Monday evening during an appearance on NewsNation. “There’s nothing combative about wanting a bigger, better, and brighter future for the entire state of South Carolina.”
“And in fact, contrary to the mainstream media, I’m actually one of the top legislative lawmakers in Congress,” she told “On Balance” host Leland Vittert, The Hill reported.
In the interview, the GOP lawmaker also highlighted actions she’s taken in support of President Trump’s “America First” agenda and sharply criticized Democratic policies.
