Nancy Mace launches campaign for South Carolina governor

Washington — Rep. Nancy Mace launched a campaign for South Carolina governor Monday after days of teasing the announcement.

"This morning, I'm making it official. I am running to be your governor of the great state of South Carolina," Mace said in an announcement Monday morning at The Citadel, a military college where she became the first woman to graduate from the Corps of Cadets program in 1999.

Mace, 47, first came to Congress in 2021, and has gained recognition as a GOP firebrand in recent months after shifting positions in recent years.

The South Carolina Republican made headlines for leading a GOP effort to restrict restroom use in the Capitol earlier this year after the first transgender person was elected to Congress. And she's regularly sparred with witnesses while serving on the House Oversight Committee, like at a hearing on immigration policies in March, where she accused Democratic mayors of having "blood on your hands."

Mace has previously taken more moderate positions, like urging her GOP colleagues not to go too far on abortion ahead of the 2022 midterms elections where Democrats defied expectations. And she criticized President Trump following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, suggesting he didn't have a future in the party, before ultimately backing his 2024 presidential bid. In 2022, Mace overcame a primary challenge despite Mr. Trump's endorsement of her opponent.

In 2023, Mace was among a group of eight Republicans who voted to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, spurring a proxy fight with the former speaker in her 2024 primary. Mace ultimately defeated her McCarthy-backed challenger.

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.

The South Carolina Republican acknowledged what's expected to be a crowded race for the GOP nomination, citing bids from Rep. Ralph Norman and Lieutenant Gov. Pamela Evette, saying "they're going to be great on the campaign trail."

"But if I get in, we're starting out front, in the lead, and it's a two-man race," Mace added, referencing South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, a Republican who announced a bid for governor last month. "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."