Rep. Nancy Mace withdrew from the race for the South Carolina Republican governor’s primary. She placed fifth in the primary, garnering 12% of the vote. Mace endorsed Attorney General Alan Wilson, who is advancing to the June 23 primary runoff alongside Lt. Governor Pamela Evette.
Evette emerged victorious in the primary, winning 29% of the votes cast, while Wilson came second with 26%. As such, Evette and Wilson will face off in the June 23 primary runoff for the gubernatorial nomination, since neither reached the 50% threshold needed to avoid the runoff.
After releasing an official statement on X, Mace cited the reason for her decision in a lengthy statement on social media. She attributed her loss to her choice to release records of convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, citing principle over pragmatism.
“I voted to release the Epstein files and lost some support because of that,” she explained. “As a survivor, I chose to stand on principle and stand against the Epstein cover-up.”
The congresswoman, who is also an open sexual assault survivor, stated that she was at peace with the results of her decision and had no regrets.
“Apparently, I chose wrong if the goal was winning an election,” Mace noted. “I’m at peace with that.”
Mace said she will continue to support Wilson in his gubernatorial run privately and that she will return to her seat in Congress, which she calls ‘safe.’ She termed the primary result a “moral emergency” rather than a political one, as it represents corruption in the race.
“When a candidate is OK with corruption and cover-ups — something is broken,” Mace wrote. “That’s not a political opinion. That’s a moral emergency.”
While thanking her supporters, Mace said she had a great time serving the people. She described this as the end of one chapter rather than the end of her political career.
“This isn’t the end of the fight,” she continued. “It’s just the end of this chapter.”
The Evette-Wilson runoff will take place on June 23rd.
