Rep. Nancy Mace conceded Tuesday after being crushed in South Carolina’s Republican primary for governor, then took a swipe at Maine’s Democratic Senate nominee while defending her record on the Epstein Files in a separate post.
Nancy Mace woke up to the kind of loss that leaves little room for speeches. On Tuesday night, she got walloped in the Republican primary for South Carolina governor, and by the morning she was already making her exits—on X, on Facebook, and in the arguments she still wanted to have.
In a morning-after post on X, Mace sounded both self-deprecating and sharp-edged. “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.
Her target was Graham Platner, Maine’s Democratic candidate for Senate. Mace linked Platner’s nomination to a set of allegations and revelations about his past. including affair allegations and reports that he had a tattoo of a skull and crossbones symbol historically associated with the SS. She also described the primary results with a blunt comparison: Platner crushed his competitor, Maine Gov. Janet Mills, 72% to 19%.
When Mace turned to a concession message on Facebook, she shifted tone—but not themes. She wrote that serving the Palmetto State was the “greatest honor” of her life, and she used the moment to defend what she views as the most controversial decisions from her time in Washington, D.C.
Her most prominent argument centered on breaking with President Donald Trump. Mace wrote that she voted to release the Epstein Files, framing it as a stand rather than a gamble.
“Every vote I cast, every hearing I called, every fight I picked — it was always for you,” she wrote. “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.”
In that same post, she also addressed the political cost of refusing to follow her party’s line. She said she lost key support for taking her stance on the Epstein Files. while insisting she held to her principles by voting to support survivors of sexual abuse instead of sticking with what she called the party line.
“As a survivor, I chose to stand on principle and stand against the Epstein cover-up,” she wrote. “I chose to expose the names hidden in the sexual harassment slush fund. I chose to expose DEI judges. I chose to expose the abusers of children.” Then she added the line that landed like the aftertaste of a concession: “And apparently. I chose wrong if the goal was winning an election.”.
Mace conceded after finishing fifth in South Carolina’s GOP primary for governor, with just 12% of the vote. Her loss also comes with a real change in her political path: because she chose to run for governor instead of maintaining her seat in Congress. her time in the House of Representatives will end at the start of next year.
For Mace, Tuesday night wasn’t just a defeat—it was a turning point that forced her to trade one kind of political fight for another: defending her record even as voters clearly decided she wasn’t the candidate to lead the next chapter of South Carolina politics.
Nancy Mace South Carolina governor primary Graham Platner Maine Senate race Janet Mills Epstein Files Donald Trump X post Facebook concession GOP primary South Carolina politics
Kinda wild she’s joking already after losing, like girl go drink coffee and log off.
So she lost and still went after some dude in Maine? I’m not saying it’s right but isn’t that the same energy as everyone else. Also the Epstein Files thing… releases files doesn’t automatically mean she’s innocent, yanno.
Wait, the nazi tattoo thing, doesn’t that mean she was accusing him of being with Epstein too? Like I saw a clip and I’m pretty sure that’s what they were saying. And if she voted to release Epstein stuff then why is she throwing darts at tattoos? Feels connected even if it’s not.
I don’t even get the numbers part, 72% to 19% sounds made up because primaries are always closer in my head?? Anyway, Nancy Mace always talks like she’s the victim, but then she’s on X calling someone nazi-tattoo guy like that’s gonna fix the loss. Epstein Files defense too… like she voted once and suddenly it’s all good. People are weird for caring this much about whether a tattoo is real more than the actual policies.