Another high-profile Republican who drifted from President Donald Trumps orbit has now paid a steep political price at the ballot box.
According to The Blaze, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) suffered a stinging defeat in the South Carolina Republican gubernatorial primary on Tuesday night, finishing a distant fifth in a race dominated by Trump-backed Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette. Mace thus joins Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) on the growing list of Republicans who have lost major primaries after failing to secure the Presidents endorsement, underscoring the enduring strength of the MAGA base within the GOP.
Before 9 p.m. ET, Mace had already conceded, posting a lengthy message on X that mixed gratitude with defiance. Serving South Carolina has been the greatest honor of my life. Every vote I cast, every hearing I called, every fight I picked it was always for you, she wrote, signaling that she viewed her record as principled rather than politically expedient.
She acknowledged that her choices may have cost her politically, adding, "Apparently, I chose wrong if the goal was winning an election. I'm at peace with that. Because when a candidate is OK with corruption and cover-ups something is broken. That's not a political opinion. That's a moral emergency." Mace then tried to rally her supporters, insisting, "This isn't the end of the fight. It's just the end of this chapter."
By the next morning, Mace appeared to be taking the loss with a measure of gallows humor, joking on X before 7:30 a.m., "Enjoying my first cup of coffee since getting my ass kicked last night." Her public persona has long been outspoken and combative, a style that has sometimes put her at odds with the conservative grassroots that remain firmly aligned with President Trump.
Mace likely extinguished any realistic hope of a Trump endorsement this cycle when she aggressively pushed for additional disclosures related to Jeffrey Epstein, even as she thanked Trump for supporting the "survivors." Her relationship with the President has been unstable for years; in 2022, he endorsed a primary challenger against her, only shifting behind her after she survived that contest, and later backing her 2024 re-election bid.
Now, with her congressional career ending, Mace says she intends to return "to the private sector ... as the Founders intended," a remark that suggests she may be stepping away from electoral politics altogether. Trump, by contrast, emerges strengthened, as his chosen candidate Evette led the gubernatorial field with 28.9% of the vote, ahead of Attorney General Alan Wilsons 26.2%, sending both to a June 23 runoff that will further test the staying power of Trumps influence in Republican primaries.
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