Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) announced she will not return to Congress after January 2027, following her fifth-place finish in South Carolina's GOP gubernatorial primary last week. The three-term congresswoman said Wednesday she would return to the private sector, having founded a public relations firm and co-owned FITSNews before entering the House in January 2021.
Mace received an unexpected endorsement during her final weeks in office from comedian Rob Schneider, who praised her as the "champion we didn't deserve" on social media. Responding to Schneider, Mace wrote on X: "Don't worry sir, I promise to be more of a menace than ever. There is nothing to hold me back."
What the Left Is Saying
Progressive critics pointed to Mace's evolution during her time in Congress as evidence of a shift toward more confrontational conservative tactics. In 2024, she introduced legislation to bar transgender people from using bathrooms in the U.S. Capitol that do not match their sex assigned at birth, targeting Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.), who had just been elected as a transgender woman. The proposal drew widespread condemnation from LGBTQ+ advocacy groups and Democratic lawmakers.
"This was about political theater rather than any genuine policy concern," said a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign in a statement at the time of the bill's introduction. Mace's office did not respond to requests for comment on that characterization.
However, some progressive observers noted that Mace occasionally broke with her party. She was one of only four House Republicans to sign a discharge petition advancing the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which later became law. She also introduced a resolution calling for the House Oversight Committee to subpoena former Attorney General Pam Bondi as part of the panel's investigation into the Jeffrey Epstein case.
"Mace chose to stand on principle," she wrote Tuesday on X regarding her work on the Epstein matter. "Every vote I cast, every hearing I called, every fight I picked — it was always for you."
What the Right Is Saying
Conservative commentators offered mixed assessments of Mace's tenure as her congressional career winds down. Some praised her willingness to take on what they characterized as entrenched Washington interests.
"Nancy Mace wasn't afraid to ruffle feathers," said a commentator on a prominent conservative talk radio program in South Carolina, adding that her work on the Epstein Files demonstrated "real oversight of the executive branch."
Others within the GOP were less sympathetic. Several party strategists noted that Mace's positioning — sometimes aligning with Trump while opposing the president on other votes — made it difficult to establish a clear electoral identity in the gubernatorial race.
Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, who advanced to the June 23 runoff alongside state Attorney General Alan Wilson, had secured Trump's endorsement for her campaign. Mace did not receive an endorsement from the White House during the primary contest.
What the Numbers Show
Mace served three terms in Congress representing South Carolina's 1st Congressional District. She entered office in January 2021 as part of a class of conservative freshmen who backed various Trump administration priorities.
In her final week of legislative business, Mace joined 14 other House members in not voting on an unsuccessful effort to extend the federal government's warrantless surveillance authorities under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. She was also among 17 lawmakers who did not vote on a successful resolution condemning those who "seek to defraud" the federal government.
During her tenure, Mace cast votes along with House Republicans on major legislation including tax reform measures and conservative social priorities. She broke ranks at various points, including early in her first term when she said Congress lacked authority to overturn 2020 presidential election results — a position that put her at odds with more than 100 of her House GOP colleagues who supported challenges to the electoral outcome.
The Bottom Line
Mace's departure marks the end of a four-year congressional career characterized by high-profile fights and occasional bipartisanship. Her fifth-place finish in the gubernatorial primary, trailing candidates with stronger Trump administration ties, suggests that positioning herself as an independent conservative did not translate to statewide electoral success.
With her term expiring January 3, 2027, Mace has indicated she will return to private business. "Serving South Carolina has been the greatest honor of my life," she wrote on X following her primary defeat. The political future for the former congresswoman remains unclear, though her social media posts suggesting plans to remain politically active have drawn attention from both supporters and critics watching to see how she deploys whatever influence she retains.