U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace has launched a campaign to be South Carolina’s governor.
The Republican congresswoman had long been expected to enter the crowded 2026 gubernatorial race before making the announcement on Monday, Aug. 4. Mace’s news comes after several months of rebranding herself as a far-right culture warrior, with her launch video recapping her headline-making year and touting her as a “firebrand” and a “fighter.”
Mace, 47, was once considered a moderate Republican in Congress, joining the House of Representatives days before the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and quickly using her platform to denounce President Donald Trump‘s role in the events.
Her criticism earned Trump’s ire at the time, leading him to back her primary challenger during the 2022 election. She won reelection anyway, and later made amends with Trump before recasting herself as a hardline MAGA Republican.
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South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace takes the stage at the 2024 Republican National Convention
Since the start of the new congressional term in January, Mace has led House Republicans’ attacks on the transgender community, pushing for a trans bathroom ban at the U.S. Capitol and repeatedly shouting anti-trans slurs in a House hearing, in addition to a slew of X posts that characterized transgender identities as “delusion and mental instability.”
The congresswoman wasn’t always engaged in the anti-trans culture wars. In 2021, she expressed regret that COVID-19 overshadowed the previous year’s Pride celebrations in South Carolina and shared that she was eager to “celebrate the challenges our LGBTQ+ has overcome, and the bright future ahead.”
The same year, as Mace veered from some in her party to support anti-discrimination efforts that would protect LGBTQ+ people, she posted on X, “I strongly support LGBTQ rights. No one should be discriminated against. Religious liberty, gay rights, and transgender equality can all coexist.”
In February, Mace accused four men, including her former fiancé Patrick Bryant, of sexual misconduct in a nearly hour-long speech on the House floor that Bryant strongly denied.
While making the allegations, Mace also accused South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson — now one of her opponents in the governor’s race — of failing to investigate, despite allegedly presenting his office with evidence.
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Mace also made headlines in January for a heated exchange she shared with Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett during a House Oversight Committee hearing, in which the South Carolinian said, “If you want to take it outside, we can do that,” and for a run-in with a constituent in April that led to Mace cussing the person out on video.
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South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace at the U.S. Capitol in January 2024
Prior to joining the U.S. House, Mace served two years in the South Carolina House of Representatives. She was previously distinguished as the first woman to graduate from the Citadel Military College’s Corps of Cadets program, going on to work in public relations and journalism before entering politics.
Mace joins a crowded field of Republican candidates for governor in 2026, including Attorney General Wilson, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, and Rep. Ralph Norman, who is widely considered one of the most conservative members in the House.
Though Mace has been described as the front-runner in the race given her strong name recognition, she is not a shoo-in for the GOP nomination, as her competitors also enjoy statewide popularity.
Read the original article on People
