South Carolina – This week, Rep. Nancy Mace was in the middle of a political turmoil after a national report said she was thinking about leaving Congress early to run for governor of South Carolina. By noon, she had just one thing to say that broke through the noise: “No.”
That answer, given to CNN’s Manu Raju when he asked if she planned to quit early, came just hours after The New York Times revealed that Mace had been privately complaining about GOP leadership and thinking about stepping down.
The story says that she had talked about how senior Republicans treat women in the party and even thought about contacting Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene about quitting Congress before her term ends.
These new pieces of information came out at a bad time for Mace, whose relationship with her party had been rocky for a long time. She left the Republican Party following the attack on January 6, voted to ratify the results of the 2020 election, and publicly condemned former President Donald Trump. But as the political winds changed, she later supported several of Trump’s primary objectives, including his immigration and economic plans, even if she stayed away from his orbit.
This delicate balancing effort has put her in awkward situations many times. Reports say that the White House has told her that staying away from Trump could hurt her politically, especially as she seeks to go up in South Carolina.
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At the same time, Mace has taken on causes that put her at conflict with GOP leaders, most notably her fight to get the Justice Department reveal records in the Jeffrey Epstein case. Her insistence on being open got a lot of attention around the country, but it also made her coworkers avoid the subject.
This week, her campaign was hit by a separate political earthquake, which made her future even more doubtful. Austin McCubbin, a strong Trump supporter who was an important adviser to her gubernatorial campaign, suddenly quit in a dramatic public announcement. His leaving raised further doubts about Mace’s internal strategy and her credibility among the pro-Trump crowd she is trying to win over.
McCubbin, who used to work for Trump’s South Carolina campaign, said that Mace had turned her back on the movement she used to support. He wrote a scathing article on X saying that she had “once again” turned her back on the former president and instead joined a group linked to Sen. Rand Paul and Rep. Thomas Massie. He also said that she was telling contributors to give money to Protect Freedom PAC, which is part of Paul’s political network.
He said she had gone “all-in” with that part of the GOP and even told him she was going to help send a seven-figure donation to the PAC. McCubbin said this showed that she had lost touch with her pro-Trump identity at the time she needed it the most.
Mace’s campaign quickly disagreed with what he said. A spokeswoman said that McCubbin made up the claims since he couldn’t get a $10,000-per-month consulting deal. The campaign says he “never even bothered showing up” and got angry when he was told he couldn’t have the big amount.
The same spokeswoman defended Mace’s record by saying that McCubbin had called her “the most pro-Trump and America First Governor in the country” before. They believed that his leaving had more to do with his private reasons than with any change in ideology.
However, the incident made her bid feel much more unstable. Mace is running in a crowded Republican primary against Attorney General Alan Wilson, Rep. Ralph Norman, state Sen. Josh Kimbrell, and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette. Most people think the winner will be the future governor of South Carolina, but Trump hasn’t endorsed anyone yet, so loyalty to the former president is a big issue in the race.
The Times report about a probable resignation added more trouble to the situation just as her campaign was trying to get back on track. The rumors could have made people doubt her dedication and kept her from getting to know voters as a serious candidate for statewide office.
Her one-word remark on Wednesday was meant to put a stop to the speculations. But the mix of different stories—internal fights, changing alliances, and public contradictions—suggests that the road ahead will not be easy. As she moves forward in the run for governor, her opponents, Trump’s network, and party leaders who have always thought she was unpredictable are watching her every move.
Mace says she is remaining precisely where she is for now. It is still unclear if voters and political allies will believe that promise.
