Rep. Nancy Mace failed to advance in South Carolina’s Republican gubernatorial primary after President Donald Trump endorsed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette—an endorsement that followed Mace’s public dispute with Trump and arrived hours after her AI-tipped warning. The
Rep. Nancy Mace didn’t just fall short in South Carolina’s Republican gubernatorial primary Tuesday—she fell behind the political gravity of President Donald Trump’s blessing.
Two weeks ago, Trump endorsed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette for governor. The message landed quickly in a fight Mace had already been trying to stage. On social media. Mace tweeted: “Pamela Evette is NOT ENDORSED by DONALD TRUMP.” She added: “Do not believe her LIES.” The post included an AI-generated video showing Mace and Trump giving a thumbs up.
Then came the reversal. Hours after Mace’s warning, Trump’s endorsement of Evette arrived.
Evette responded with a message of her own: “I am deeply honored to receive President @realDonaldTrump ’s Complete and Total Endorsement for Governor of South Carolina.” She added, “Thank you, Mr. President.”
By Tuesday’s primary results, that endorsement translated into momentum. The race is headed for a runoff between Evette and Attorney General Alan Wilson because no candidate earned the majority of votes needed to avoid one. Evette is leading the field with 29%, followed by Wilson at 26%, Rep. Ralph Norman at 17%, businessman Rom Reddy at 15%, and Mace at 11%.
Mace’s loss reads like a referendum on how closely she has tried to calibrate her relationship with Trump while still carving out her own footing inside the party. She’s tangled with him before.
Most notably, Mace was one of a handful of House Republicans who signed a discharge petition that forced a vote on a bill requiring the Department of Justice to release its files about deceased sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
More recently, she challenged the administration’s rationale for the war in Iran. In March. Mace said: “The justifications presented to the American public for the war in Iran were not the same military objectives we were briefed on today in the House Armed Services Committee.” She continued: “This gap is deeply troubling. The longer this war continues, the faster it will lose the support of Congress and the American people.”.
What happened between those moments and Tuesday’s vote is now hard to miss: Trump’s endorsement narrowed Mace’s room to maneuver just as South Carolina voters decided who would be left standing for the next round. The primary map shifts immediately—Evette and Wilson are the two names now in view. with Mace’s 11% leaving her out of the runoff.
Nancy Mace Pamela Evette Alan Wilson South Carolina Republican primary Trump endorsement runoff Jeffrey Epstein files war in Iran
So Trump basically just picked a winner and that’s it.
That AI video part is crazy… like why are we even trusting anything anymore? Also Mace shoulda just shut up if she knew Trump was gonna endorse her opponent.
I don’t get it, didn’t Mace say she wasn’t endorsed but then the numbers show she got 11% so I guess she lied or something? Wait the AI-tipped warning thing sounds backwards though. Either way runoff means nothing, right?
This is what happens when people play games on Twitter and then get surprised by reality. The fact it mentions Epstein DOJ files and then the war in Iran quote, like why are those even in here unless Evette was just polling better? I saw that thumbs up video and I’m still confused if it was real or not. If Trump endorses you, you win, period. South Carolina really loves the drama.