Rep. Nancy Mace suffered a decisive defeat in South Carolina’s Republican gubernatorial primary, finishing fifth in the race with just 12.2 percent of the vote.
Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, backed by President Donald Trump, and Attorney General Alan Wilson advanced to a runoff, with Mace failing to mount any serious challenge to the frontrunners.
Mace finished fifth despite high name recognition and a well-established media profile, losing even her own home county and congressional district in a stinging repudiation.
A weighted average compiled by RealClearPolitics had projected the precise order of finishers ahead of the vote, listing Mace in last place at 12.2 percent — the exact figure she ultimately received on election night.
The result mirrored a pattern from more than a decade earlier, with Mace finishing fifth in her first bid for statewide office twelve years ago, and now fifth again in her second.
Mace conceded before 9 p.m. local time, before the Associated Press had even called the race, as it became clear she faced an insurmountable deficit against her rivals.
In her concession speech, Mace said, “This isn’t the end of the fight, but it is the end of a chapter,” signaling she viewed the defeat as a political transition rather than a final exit from public life.
Mace told supporters she believes the race turned against her when she chose to break with her own party and push for the release of the Epstein files, saying she believes that decision cost her the governorship.
She also acknowledged that her congressional career is drawing to a close, stating, “Well, my time is up at the end of this year,” and reaffirming she has no plans to run for Congress again.
The South Carolina native first entered the public eye in 1999 as the first woman to graduate from The Citadel’s Corps of Cadets, a landmark achievement that anchored her public identity for years afterward.
Her political career traced an erratic arc, shifting from one of Trump’s earliest South Carolina supporters to one of his most vocal Republican critics following January 6, before later realigning herself as a Trump ally.
The governor’s race result effectively closes a turbulent chapter in Mace’s career, one defined by headline-grabbing controversies, shifting political allegiances, and an inability to convert national attention into durable electoral support at home.
