Representative Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican, was handed bad news on Tuesday after Congressman Joe Wilson, longtime House GOP member representing the state, endorsed Mace’s primary challenger.
Mace is pushing to get reelected to the seat she has held since 2020, with the primary for South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District set for June 11 and a primary runoff for June 25. Mace is competing with four others for the seat, including Republicans Daniel Hanlon, her former chief of staff, and Catherine Templeton, ex-director of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC). The congresswoman also faces Democrats Mac Deford and Michael B. Moore.
On Tuesday, Wilson endorsed Templeton. In a post to X, formerly Twitter, Templeton announced Wilson’s backing and thanked him.
“@teamjoewilson endorses Team Templeton! Thank you for your support, Congressman! We’re honored to have you on the team!” Templeton wrote on X.
Newsweek on Tuesday reached out to Mace’s campaign via email and online form for comment.
This is not the first time Wilson has endorsed Mace’s challenger, as he backed Katie Arrington during the last election cycle.
In a statement announcing the endorsement, Wilson said Templeton is “smart, honest, and dedicated” and will help advance the agenda of former President Donald Trump.
“As we face the peril of the Biden agenda—never ending inflation, taxes, crime, and illegal immigration, we need reinforcements in Congress who will always stand with conservatives, President Trump, and our beloved Lowcountry—we need Catherine Templeton in Congress,” Wilson said.
Newsweek on Tuesday also reached out to Wilson’s office and Templeton’s campaign via email for comment.
Mace, who previously said on the House floor that Trump needed to be held “accountable” for the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, has since become a staunch supporter of the former president.
One week after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in a failed attempt to stop the certification of President Joe Biden’s election win, freshman Congresswoman Mace took to the House floor, on January 13, 2021, to address the vote to impeach Trump over his actions surrounding January 6.
“I believe we need to hold the president accountable. I hold him accountable for the events that transpired for the attack on our Capitol last Wednesday. I also believe that we need to hold accountable every single person, even members of Congress, if they contributed to the violence that transpired here,” Mace said.
But Trump and Mace have since supported each other, with Mace in January endorsing the former president amid the 2024 presidential election, and Trump in March endorsing Mace in her battle to retain the congressional seat.
In a post on Trump’s social media platform Truth Social, he wrote on Saturday: “It is my great honor to Endorse a Strong Conservative Voice for South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District.
“Nancy Mace worked hard campaigning across South Carolina in support of our Record-Breaking WIN. In Congress, she is fighting to Secure the Border, Strengthen our Military, Support our Veterans, Uphold the Rule of Law, Stop Political Weaponization, and Protect and Defend our always under siege Second Amendment. Congresswoman Nancy Mace has my Complete and Total Endorsement!”
In addition, Mace has garnered the endorsement of Republican Governor Henry McMaster in a video published by the Mace campaign on Tuesday.
“Nancy Mace is a fighter. In her years in Congress, she has stood firm for the 1st District, and she has stood with me every time I’ve asked. In the months to come, we must all stand firm against the illegal, unconstitutional excesses of the Biden administration and other corrupt officials. For these reasons and more, I am today announcing my full support for Nancy Mace for Congress,” McMaster said in the video.
Mace has sparked some controversy among her fellow Republicans, including over the vote to remove former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
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