Rep. Nancy Mace says if she moves ahead and launches a 2026 Republican run for South Carolina governor, she’ll aim “to lock down support” from President Trump.
“I had Pres. Trump’s endorsement in the House and I am working hard to lock down support in this race. He said I am a strong conservative voice, he knows I’m a fighter,” Mace said Thursday in a statement to Fox News Digital.
A day earlier, Mace took to social media to reiterate what she first told the AP, that’s she’s seriously considering a gubernatorial run in the race to succeed GOP Gov. Henry McMaster, who is term-limited.
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“President Trump needs bold leaders to implement his agenda in every state across the nation. It will take grit. It will take strength. It will take hard work. I can confirm, affirmative, yes, we are considering a run in 2026. South Carolina First,” Mace said in her social media post.
Mace, who was first elected to the House in the 2020 election, didn’t vote to impeach Trump for inciting the Jan. 6, 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol by right-wing extremists and other Trump supporters who aimed to disrupt congressional certification of former President Biden’s 2020 election victory.
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But she later blamed Trump for the attack on the U.S. Capital, and in 2022 faced – but survived – a Republican primary challenge from a rival backed by Trump.
Mace endorsed the former president as he ran for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination and campaigned for him in South Carolina’s crucial early voting presidential primary.
Trump returned the favor, backing Mace as she ran for re-election last year.
Mace told Fox News Digital that “I’ve proven my leadership, from the state legislature to Washington, my bold conservative policies are rooted in the Constitution, liberty, small government, and common sense.”
“I believe in a government small enough to fit into the Constitution,” she added.
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And Mace emphasized that “I kick a– and take names from South Carolina to DC and back. That’s the leadership the Palmetto State is looking for.”
Mace recently made headlines by introducing a resolution to ban transgender women from using women’s bathrooms at the U.S. Capitol or the adjoining House office buildings. It’s an issue of high interest to many voters on the right.
Trump is very popular in Republican-dominated South Carolina, and his endorsement in a GOP gubernatorial primary would be immensely influential among the state’s conservative electorate.
Attorney General Alan Wilson, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, and state Sens. Josh Kimbrell and Sean Bennett are among those also considering gubernatorial bids.
It’s going to be a crowded field, veteran South Carolina-based Republican consultant Dave Wilson told Fox News. “There’s going to be a lot of people who are going to throw their hat in the ring.”
“It’s going to be a battle of the conservatives – how conservative you can be in South Carolina,” Wilson emphasized.
McMaster, another top Trump ally, is on track to become South Carolina’s longest serving governor. The then-lieutenant governor succeeded Gov. Nikki Haley in 2017 when she stepped down to become ambassador to the United Nations in Trump’s first term. McMaster went on to win election in 2018 to a full four-year term, and re-election in 2022.
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