Rep. Nancy Mace declared that her blowout loss in South Carolina’s Republican gubernatorial primary is “revenge” against former President Donald Trump, saying she’ll “add[] to the unemployment number in January.” The congresswoman lost the race after Trump bac
When Rep. Nancy Mace stepped into Tuesday’s Republican gubernatorial primary in South Carolina, she had a clear political bet: that Donald Trump would back her bid for the state’s top office. By the end of the night, voters had a different outcome.
Mace—who declined to run for reelection in the House to pursue the governor’s race—finished fifth in the primary. a result described in the account as a stinging rebuke. Her campaign had sought an endorsement from Trump, but it never came. Instead, Trump threw his support behind Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette. Neither Evette nor her opponent received a majority of votes in the contest. setting up a matchup in the next stage: Evette will face South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson.
On Thursday, Mace turned the loss into a headline of its own. She posted on X that she would “get revenge” on Trump—not through policy or protest. but through the end of her own political run. “People keep asking me: ‘Will you get revenge on Trump for ending your political career?’” she wrote. “The answer is yes. I’ll be adding to the unemployment number in January.”.
The timing is sharp. Mace’s answer wasn’t framed as bitterness alone; it was framed as a kind of arithmetic—Trump’s influence, in her telling, cost her her career, and her unemployment would be the ledger mark in return.
The episode also underscores how often Mace has tried to carve out space from Trump even while remaining inside the Republican coalition. She has previously bucked him “on occasion. ” including by helping force a vote on legislation requiring the Department of Justice to release all of its files on the late child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. She has also expressed concern about Trump’s ongoing war in Iran.
Still, even in those moments of independence, the fight in South Carolina has shown where she thought she had leverage—and where it vanished.
Two weeks before the primary. Mace made a direct effort to undercut Trump’s influence with a pointed message about Evette. She tweeted. “Pamela Evette is NOT ENDORSED by DONALD TRUMP. ” and added. “Do not believe her LIES.” The post included an AI-generated video of Trump and Mace giving thumbs up. Hours later, Trump endorsed Evette.
In the end, Tuesday’s vote translated that clash into results: Mace’s fifth-place finish, Evette’s advance, and Wilson’s path to the general election stage.
As Evette prepares to face Alan Wilson after failing to win a majority on Tuesday. Mace is left with the consequences of her own decision not to seek another House term—and with her promise. on X. to turn Trump’s power into a personal political finish line. Come January, she said, she’ll be counting herself among the “unemployment” numbers.
Nancy Mace South Carolina gubernatorial primary Donald Trump Pamela Evette Alan Wilson unemployment number Jeffrey Epstein files Department of Justice war in Iran