South Carolina Congresswoman Nancy Mace has made it official. She’s running for governor.
The three-term U.S. representative for the coastal 1st District formally filed Monday to enter her name on the 2026 Republican ballot.
“South Carolina didn’t just shape me, it made me,” said Rep. Mace. “And now it’s time to give it everything I got.”
Republican challengers
Mace will take on at least three fellow Republicans in the upcoming June primary: Congressman Ralph Norman, businessman Rom Reddy, and Attorney General Alan Wilson. All have filed.
Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and state Sen. Josh Kimbrell have announced intentions to run but have yet to make it official. Governor McMaster has already endorsed Evette with the filing deadline of March 30 just days away.
Democratic challengers
On the Democratic side, Dr. Jermaine Johnson and attorney Mullins McLeod have also filed.
As for Mace, she was first elected to the South Carolina State House in 2017 before turning her attention to the 1st Congressional District. She won that seat in 2020 as the first Republican woman from South Carolina elected to Congress. She also flipped the seat back from blue to red.
About Mace
Mace often touts her humble beginnings as a high school drop-out who worked at Waffle House before becoming the first woman to graduate for the Citadel, the state’s well-known military college.
“My family has been here for hundreds of years,” said Mace. “And serving South Carolina has been the honor of my life.”
But Mace’s congressional journey hasn’t always been smooth.
Earlier this month, the House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into Mace after it was alleged, she overcharged a congressional program $9,000 for housing reimbursement. The program is meant to assist lawmakers with housing costs in Washington, D.C.
In the limelight
At the time, Mace responded with a statement, saying in part:
“Congress should seriously examine whether a partisan Office of Congressional Conduct that retaliates against women and ignores its own evidentiary standards deserves to exist at all.”
And last year, Mace made a nearly hour-long speech on the U.S. House floor in which she accused her former fiancé of not only physically abusing her but recording sex acts with her and others without consent and conspiring with associates to commit rape and sexual misconduct.
Mace defended the speech by accusing South Carolina’s attorney general of failing to take action. Alan Wilson is one of her opponents in this summer's Republican primary.
Meantime, Mace’s ex has strongly denied the allegations and has filed a defamation lawsuit against her.
Both the Republican and Democratic primaries for governor will be held June 9 with voters heading to the polls for the general election on November 3.
