United States Representative Nancy Mace, R-S.C., announced her run for South Carolina governor Monday morning in a bid to succeed Republican Gov. Henry McMaster.
Mace, 47, said in an announcement Monday morning at The Citadel, where she became the first woman to graduate from the Corps of Cadets program in 1999: “This morning, I’m making it official. I am running to be your governor of the great state of South Carolina. I didn’t come to join the club. They don’t want me, and I don’t want them. I came to hold the line. They said stay quiet; I spoke up. They said sit down; I stood up. They said play nice, and I fought back. This isn’t about playing defense. This is about going on offense for you — for your family, for your freedom and for your future … I wasn’t built to kiss the ring. I just wear one. I don’t answer to the establishment. I don’t owe those in the back room a single thing. I answer to the people. And the people, let me tell you, are fed up.”
Mac first came to Congress in 2021. and has since developed a reputation as a GOP firebrand in recent months. She will run against fellow Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., state Attorney General Alan Wilson, R, state Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and state Sen. Josh Kimbrell, R, in the primary. A poll released by the South Carolina Policy Council showed Mace narrowly leading Wilson in the primary among Republican voters.
Mace told Fox News last week that she was leaning toward running for state-wide office, citing economic issues, crime and “gender-bending ideology” at colleges in the state. She also said if she launched a gubernatorial bid, she and Wilson would run a “two-man race… If I get in, I will fight to the finish, and I will take out South Carolina’s attorney general, because he’s turned a blind eye on women and on children and on the state for a lot of reasons. He might force me to do this. South Carolina is tired of the politicians who smile for the cameras, lie to your face, and then vanish when it’s time to lead.”
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