Rep. Nancy Mace failed to advance in the GOP’s South Carolina Gubernatorial primary on Tuesday night, ending up in fifth place, after the Congresswoman failed to gain President Donald Trump’s endorsement going into the highly competitive race—which she blamed on her support for releasing the Epstein Files.
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) arrives for votes in the House .
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Key Facts
The Associated Press called the gubernatorial primary just after 9 p.m. EDT for Trump-endorsed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and Attorney General Alan Wilson, who will be advancing to a runoff.
With 84% of the ballots counted, Evette had secured 29.3% of the vote, followed by Wilson at 26.2%.
Mace was in a distant fifth place with only 12.2% of the vote, while fellow Congressional lawmaker Rep. Ralph Norman came third with 16.6%.
Shortly after the results poured in Mace conceded the race and endorsed Wilson.
On the Democratic side, State Rep. Jermaine Johnson won the Primary outright with 59.5% of the vote and will face the winner of the runoff in November.
What did Mace Say In her concession Speech?
In a concession speech delivered to supporters, Mace said she was “at peace” with the results. She called the election a “spiritual battle” and added that this was a fight between those that “protect predators amongst us” and those who will “fight against them and put them in jail.” In a concession statement issued on X, she added: “I voted to release the Epstein files and lost some support for that. As a survivor, I chose to stand on principle and stand against the Epstein cover-up. And apparently, I chose wrong if the goal was winning an election.”
what to watch for
Citing an unnamed source with knowledge of Evette’s campaign, the Associated Press reported that Trump called the Lt. Governor and congratulated her on advancing to the runoffs. The president also reportedly told Evette that he will be backing her candidacy in the runoff election against Wilson on June 23. In his speech to supporters, Wilson thanked Mace for her endorsement, while the GOP Rep. boosted Wilson’s campaign posts on her X account.
tangent
Another key race of the night was South Carolina’s GOP U.S. Senate Primary, which saw incumbent Sen. Lindsey Graham easily fend off five other challengers and secure 56.8% of the vote. Graham has taken a hawkish stance in support of the Iran War, which resulted in a large number of challengers, but the Senator was backed by Trump who congratulated him after his win with a post on Truth Social. The president wrote: “Congratulations to Senator Lindsey Graham of the Great State of South Carolina on his BIG WIN tonight. With almost 60% of the vote against a large field of very capable candidates, there will be no runoff.”
further reading
Graham Platner Wins Primary As Controversy Over Troubled Behavior Swirls (Forbes)