Outspoken Republican Rep. Nancy Mace has no plans to jump into the race to replace the late Sen. Lindsey Graham. But she said she would call out the “dumba--es”—because someone has to.
The outgoing South Carolina congresswoman, who last month lost her bid for governor when she landed in a distant fifth place, confirmed she would not seek the nomination in the August 11th special election.
Mace had previously hinted in a post that she might be considering a run, despite her own recent terrible showing, but she officially ruled it out in a video posted to social media on Monday.
It comes as multiple other candidates, including Graham’s sister Darline, indicated that they would run in the special primary for the nomination ahead of the filing window opening on Tuesday.
Mace indicated—with some colorful language—that she has other plans as her days in Congress dwindle.
“I’m not running for the U.S. Senate, not because I’m backing down from a fight, but because the one I’m already in matters right now,” Mace said straight to camera.
She said the laws meant to protect her and other women failed, and she won’t stop until that changes.
“I’m not chasing another title,” Mace declared. “I’m chasing justice.”
However, the congresswoman said she would keep preaching what she claimed were South Carolina values, before delivering a foul-mouthed declaration.
“I’m even going to s--tpost from time to time because someone has to call out the dumba--es,” Mace said. “Because if we don’t, we as a country will be gone.”
Mace claimed she received thousands of calls and texts to jump in the race, and serving South Carolina has been the honor of her life, which she would never forget.
The Republican lawmaker came into Congress as a moderate member in 2021 before taking a hard MAGA turn as her South Carolina district became more conservative.
In recent years, she has made headlines as one of the most anti-transgender members of Congress. Separately, she lobbed a series of bombshell accusations against her ex, accusing him of sexual assault, which he has denied. She has also picked fights with fellow Republican House members.
In the recent gubernatorial race, Mace picked up a dismal 12 percent in June. She proceeded to post a series of bizarre takes on how she was coping with the loss.
But after Graham died, she posted on X, “Just when I thought I was out... they pull me back in” with a meme from The Godfather. Asked directly about it and if she was considering a bid, she called it “self-deprecating humor” and said the focus needed to be on grieving the senator, and she would make a decision later.
When the push started for South Carolina’s governor to appoint Graham’s sister Darline to fill the remainder of the term, Mace wrote that she supported the move. She also shared a series of posts touting the swearing-in of the state’s first woman senator.
On Monday, the new Sen. Graham revealed she would run in the special election for the nomination to serve a full term. However, Mace did not endorse anyone in the race in her video announcing she would not run.
Besides Graham, South Carolina Reps. Ralph Norman and Russell Fry both said they would pursue the nomination, but Trump already said if she ran, he would endorse Graham’s sister.
