Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) declared Wednesday that she will exit Congress and re-enter the private sector when her term expires in January 2027, after her failed bid for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in South Carolina. Mace finished fifth in a crowded primary, failing to advance to a runoff.
“Headed back to the private sector at the end of this term, as the Founders intended,” Mace posted on X. “When I ran in 2020 I said I’d only serve 3 terms and my time is up. It’s truly been an immense honor and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else.”
Mace has represented South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District since January 2021, making history as the first Republican woman elected to Congress from the state. Before that, she served nearly three years in the South Carolina House and was the first woman to graduate from the Citadel’s Corps of Cadets. She also founded a PR firm and co-owned FITSNews, a South Carolina-based outlet.
In the gubernatorial primary, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette—backed by former President Donald Trump—and state Attorney General Alan Wilson advanced to a June 23 runoff to succeed term-limited Gov. Henry McMaster.
Following her primary defeat, Mace posted a lengthy message on X Tuesday, calling her service “the greatest honor of my life.” She added, “Every vote I cast, every hearing I called, every fight I picked — it was always for you. I’ve seen what happens when good people stay quiet. And I’ve seen what happens when they don’t. I would choose the latter every single time.”
Mace was one of only four House Republicans to sign a discharge petition for the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which passed nearly unanimously and was signed into law by Trump in November. She also introduced a resolution in March to subpoena then-Attorney General Pam Bondi for the House Oversight Committee’s Epstein probe; the panel interviewed Bondi last month.
“I chose to stand on principle,” Mace said Tuesday. “And 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.”
On Wednesday, Mace took a swipe at Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner, who has faced scrutiny over a tattoo he says he got in 2007 without knowing its Nazi symbolism—a claim his ex-girlfriend disputed. “Enjoying my first cup of coffee since getting my ass kicked last night, and reading about how Dems nominated the guy with the nazi tattoo,” she wrote.
Mace’s departure marks the end of a short but combative congressional tenure that saw her navigate the redistricting chaos in Southern states and align with bipartisan efforts on transparency, even as her gubernatorial ambitions fell short.
