Nancy Mace | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2020 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromSouth Carolina's1st district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Joe Cunningham |
| Member of theSouth Carolina House of Representatives from the 99th district | |
| In office January 23, 2018 – November 8, 2020 | |
| Preceded by | James Merrill |
| Succeeded by | Mark Smith |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Nancy Ruth Mace (1977-12-04)December 4, 1977 (age 47) Fort Bragg,North Carolina, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | The Citadel (BA) University of Georgia (MA) |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
Nancy Ruth Mace (born December 4, 1977) is an American politician serving as theU.S. representative forSouth Carolina's 1st congressional district since 2021. A member of theRepublican Party, she previously served in theSouth Carolina General Assembly from 2018 to 2020. The congressional district she represents comprises a six-county area in the southern portion of the state.
In 1999, Mace became the first woman to graduate from theCorps of Cadets program atthe Citadel Military College of South Carolina, which was led at the time by her father, Emory Mace, thecommandant of cadets.[1][2] From 2018 to 2020, she represented the 99th district in theSouth Carolina House of Representatives, coveringHanahan, northeastMount Pleasant, andDaniel Island. In2020, Mace was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, defeating incumbentDemocratJoe Cunningham and becoming thefirst Republican woman elected toCongress fromSouth Carolina.[3] She was re-elected in2022 and2024. In August 2025, Mace announced her candidacy forGovernor of South Carolina in2026.
Mace was born atFort Bragg, North Carolina, toUnited States Armybrigadier general James Emory Mace and schoolteacher Anne Mace.[4][5][6] Her father served as commandant of cadets at the Citadel from 1997 to 2005.[2][7]
In 1999, she became the first woman to graduate from the Citadel's Corps of Cadets program,[6] earning a degree inbusiness administrationmagna cum laude.[8] She wroteIn the Company of Men: A Woman at The Citadel (Simon & Schuster, 2001) about the experience.
In 2004, she earned a master's degree in journalism and mass communication from theHenry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at theUniversity of Georgia.[9][10]
In 2008, she founded the Mace Group, a public relations and consulting firm.[11][12]
She became co-owner of the websiteFITSNews, which she had begun working for in 2007, and then sold her stake in 2013. The site covers South Carolina politics and current events.[13][14]
In 2012, Mace volunteered for the campaign of presidential candidateRon Paul.[15][16][17]
In August 2013, she announced her candidacyin the 2014 election for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in South Carolina.[18][19][20] She received 19,560 votes (6.2% of the vote) in the primary election on June 10, 2014, behindLindsey Graham (56.4%),Lee Bright (15.4%),Richard Cash (8.3%), and Det Bowers (7.3%).[21][22]
She supportedDonald Trump for president in 2016 as a coalitions director and field director for the campaign.[23]
On September 18, 2017, Mace filed as aRepublican to run in aspecial election for the South Carolina State House District 99 seat being vacated byJimmy Merrill, who resigned earlier that month after an indictment and plea deal for several ethics violations.[24] She received 49.5% of the vote in the November 14 Republican primary, 13 votes short of winning the nomination outright. She defeated the second-place finisher,Mount Pleasant town councilman Mark Smith, in the November 28 runoff, 63–37%.
Mace defeated Democrat Cindy Boatwright in the January 16, 2018, general election, with 2,066 votes to 1,587 (57–43%).[25] She took office on January 23, 2018.
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Mace defeated the Democratic nominee, Mount Pleasant resident Jen Gibson, in the November 6, 2018, general election.[26]
In 2019, Mace successfully advocated for the inclusion of exceptions forrape andincest in a bill for asix-week abortion ban that passed the South Carolina state house. In a speech on the state house floor, Mace revealed that she had been raped at age 16. She has said she opposes abortion but does not believe the government has the right to deny the procedure to a victim of rape or incest.[27]
Mace co-sponsored a bill to opposeoffshore drilling off South Carolina's coast.[28] She opposed PresidentDonald Trump's plan to offer oil drilling leases off South Carolina beaches.[29]
The Conservation Voters of South Carolina gave Mace a 100% Lifetime rating for her voting record against offshore drilling and seismic testing.[30][31] The South CarolinaClub for Growth gave Mace its 2019 Tax Payer Hero Award.[32][33]
In May 2020, GovernorHenry McMaster signed into law Mace's prison reform bill, which ends the shackling of pregnant women in prison.[34][35]
In June 2019, Mace announced that she would seek the Republican nomination forSouth Carolina's 1st congressional district, centered in Charleston, and at the time represented by DemocratJoe Cunningham. Cunningham won the seat in 2018 in a surprise victory, winning a district Trump had carried by 13 percentage points two years earlier. Mace faced Mount Pleasant city councilwoman Kathy Landing andBikers for Trump founder Chris Cox in the June 9 Republican primary. During her primary campaign, she ran an advertisement stating she would "help President Trump take care of our veterans", and in which Vice PresidentMike Pence called her "an extraordinary American with an extraordinary lifetime of accomplishments—past, present and future."[36] She won the primary with 57.5% of the vote.[37]
Mace focused her campaign on banning offshore drilling off South Carolina's coast and restoring South Carolina's low country's economy.[3]
Mace claimed Joe Cunningham was seeking trans equality in the Marine Corps which she claimed would shut downMarine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island.[38][39]
In the November general election, Mace defeated Cunningham. She assumed office on January 3, 2021.[40]
Mace did not vote to impeach President Trump, but she criticized him for his role in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. As a consequence, Trump endorsed former South Carolina representativeKatie Arrington in the 2022 Republican primary for Mace's congressional seat. Mace defeated Arrington.[41]
In the November general election, Mace defeated Democratic nominee Annie Andrews by 14 percentage points.[42]
Mace ran for a third term and defeated Democratic candidate Michael B. Moore in the general election.[43]
Mace was one of seven Republicans who publicly refused to support their colleagues' efforts to challenge the results of the2020 presidential election on January 6, 2021. These seven signed a letter that, while giving credence to Trump'sallegations of electoral fraud, said Congress did not have the authority to influence the election's outcome.[44] Mace was so concerned by the hostile atmosphere Trump was generating in theDistrict of Columbia that she sent her children home to South Carolina before the congressional vote to accept theElectoral College votes.[45]
After the2021 United States Capitol attack, Mace pleaded with Trump to condemn it. While locked down in her Capitol office she toldCBS News'Red & Blue hostElaine Quijano, "I'm begging the president to get offTwitter."[46] Ultimately Mace voted against impeaching Trump, however, stating thatdue process had not been properly followed.[47] She would later come to Trump's defense after he wasindicted for mishandling classified documents.[48]
In 2024, Mace endorsed Trump in the2024 Republican primaries overNikki Haley, who supported Mace in the 2022 primary.[49]
In November 2021, Mace criticized fellow Republican congresswomanLauren Boebert for heranti-Muslim comments about DemocratIlhan Omar.[50]
On October 3, 2023, Mace voted in favor of removingKevin McCarthy, a fellow Republican, from his position as speaker of the House.[51][52][53] According to Mace, "McCarthy did not follow through on pushing her legislation to address the country's rape-kit backlog, expand access to birth control, adopt a balanced budget amendment and create an alert system that would notify people when there is a mass shooting". McCarthy, who had been a strong ally of Mace's, denied her claims.[54] Following his ouster, Mace took to media, describing him as "a loser" who was "bored and doesn’t know what to do with himself." Mace stated that she had never liked McCarthy since she joined Congress,[55] baffling district Republicans who questioned why she had turned on her ally.Berkeley County Republican Party chairVictoria Cowart said "one of the sentiments I get the most is that she's talking out of both sides of her mouth."[56]
On October 30, 2025, Mace was involved in an incident with law enforcement at Charleston International Airport in South Carolina, after the Charleston County Aviation Authority were late to meet her to escort her to her flight. She commented "F‑‑‑ing incompetent" repeatedly and "this is no way to treat a f‑‑‑ing U.S. Representative". Mace's team claimed this was due to a concern for lax security and the representative's safety. Mace continued to accuse the airport security of "lies" after the incident. During the outburst, Mace commented "you would never treat [Senator Tim Scott] like this", which prompted senator Tim Scott and senator Lindsey Graham to publicly denounce Mace for her behavior.[57]
On May 18, 2021, Mace joined 61 otherHouse Republicans to vote against the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, which condemned acts of hate againstAsian Americans and streamlined data collection and reporting about such occurrences. The bill previously passed theU.S. Senate on a 94–1 vote.[58][59][60] Mace said she opposed the bill because it did not address discrimination against Asian-Americans in higher education.[61]
In February 2023, Mace, along with representativesRandy Weber (R‑TX 14th),Lizzie Fletcher (D‑TX 07th),Abigail Spanberger (D‑VA 07th),Don Davis (D‑NC 01st), andAnna Eshoo (D‑CA 16th), introduced theReinvesting in Shoreline Economies and Ecosystems Act, which aims to share federal offshore wind power revenue with states for coastal protection and restoration work. The bill was also introduced in the Senate.[62][63]
On October 2, 2023, the House of Representatives passed a cybersecurity bill titled the MACE Act, intended to modernize federal cybersecurity job requirements. The bill was introduced by Mace and would be the last bill passed under SpeakerKevin McCarthy. Mace's legislative staff named the bill after her as a joke about Mace's ego.[64][65]
In April 2024, Mace introduced the Preventing Animal Abuse and Waste Act (i.e. the PAAW Act). The bill "prevents theNational Institute of Health (NIH) from conducting or supporting any research that causes significant pain and distress to dogs and cats." It also "requires reports to Congress by the NIH andGovernment Accountability Office detailing NIH-funded dog and cat experiments, their cost and assessments of NIH efforts to phase them out."[66]
In 2025, Mace was among a handful of Republican lawmakers to sign a petition calling for a vote on the release of theEpstein files.[67] Mace, a survivor of rape and sexual abuse, wrote on social media that “the Epstein petition is deeply personal.”[68]
Many former congressional staffers for Mace have described her approach to her office as focused on gaining media attention. Her staffers have attributed many of her political actions, such as her vote against McCarthy, to a desire to make headlines and appear on TV programs. Staffers recalled her attempting to attract attention to herself during the January 6 Capitol attack by risking her own safety and seeking to be assaulted by rioters. Mace's former communications director described a resolution[69] introduced by Mace to limit usage of House of Representatives bathrooms to those designated for one's biological sex, in response to the election of a transgender member, as a ploy for media attention. Legislative staffers for Mace described her efforts to attract media attention as hampering her legislative agenda and working relationships with other members of Congress.[64][70][71]
An internal staff handbook written by Mace showcased a strong focus on public image and media attention, with strenuous expectations for communications staff. Mace's handbook required communications staffers to book her on national TV outlets at least 1-3 times a day, and on local TV channels at least 6 times per week. The handbook was conspicuously more detailed in its descriptions of communications staff compared to legislative and constituent-focused staff positions. Mace's office experienced high levels of turnover, including a complete turnover of all staff between November 2023 and February 2024.[64][72]
In December 2024, Mace said thatfoster youth activist and children's advocate James McIntyre threatened and physically assaulted her during a handshake at a foster care youth advocacy event. McIntyre was subsequently arrested byU.S. Capitol Police on charges ofassaulting a government official[73] and was jailed overnight. In court documents, Mace stated that McIntyre "began to aggressively and in an exaggerated manner shake her arm up and down in a hand shaking motion," with "her arm flailing for about 3-5 seconds." According to Mace, McIntyre had said, "Trans youth deserve advocacy," and Mace described herself as being "in shock" and "intimidated". At least three witnesses disputed Mace's description of the handshake, saying they saw nothing but a "routine handshake". Another witness stated that McIntyre "took her hand with both of his hands and shook her arm up and down in an exaggerated, aggressive handshaking motion". Mace refusedparamedics' assistance, but stated in court documents that she felt "pain in her wrists, arm and armpit/shoulder due to the incident".[74][75][76]
On April 1, 2025, theUnited States attorney for the District of Columbia announced he would drop the misdemeanor charge against McIntyre.[77] Shortly after, Mace withdrew from theCongressional Caucus onFoster Youth. Mace was replaced as co-chair by Rep.Erin Houchin.[78]
South Carolina redrew its congressional map after the 2020 census showed significant population changes between districts. A three-judge federal panel ruled in 2023 that Mace's congressional District 1 was redrawn in a "stark racial gerrymander" intended to suppress the power of Black voters.[79] The redistricting moved 62% of Black Charleston County voters (a total of 30,000) from Mace's District 1 to District 6 — represented byJim Clyburn, a Black Democrat who has held the seat for 30 years — and moved inland white voters into Mace's District 1.[80]
TheNAACP challenged the map, but after hearing oral arguments in October 2023,[80] the Supreme Court reversed the lower court's ruling in a 6–3 decision in May 2024, finding that the legislature's redistricting decisions were driven by partisan goals, specifically to increase District 1's Republican vote share, rather than by race.[81] The Court emphasized that while race and partisan preference are highly correlated in South Carolina, the use of political data for partisan aims is not constitutionally prohibited even if it results in racial disparities. The Court also noted that the plaintiff's decision not to provide an alternative map was an "implicit concession" that it could not draw one that would prove racial discrimination while achieving the same partisan outcome. The dissenting justices argued that the majority's approach would make it significantly harder to challenge racial gerrymandering in the future. In response to the ruling, Mace stated, "It reaffirms everything everyone in South Carolina already knows, which is that the line wasn't based on race."[82]
As chairwoman of the House Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation, Mace has led congressional hearings onUAPs (also known as UFOs) and government transparency.[83] In a July 2023 hearing, Mace questionedDavid Grusch, a former senior intelligence official and lead UAP analyst for theNational Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, about claims of recovered extraterrestrial spacecraft and biological remains.[84][85]
In a November 2024 hearing, Mace criticized the Pentagon'sAll-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) for being "unable, or perhaps unwilling, to bring forward the truth about the government's activities concerning UAPs" and questioned why the government maintains such secrecy if there is "no big deal and there's nothing there."[86]
On August 4, 2025, Mace officially announced hergubernatorial bid for the 2026 election.[94][95]
Mace has supported efforts to limit access toabortion. In 2021, she cosponsored the Life at Conception Act, which would recognize a fertilized egg as a person with equal protections under the 14th Amendment and establish a nationwide abortion ban.[96][97] Describing herself as "staunchly pro-life", she has also criticized abortion bans enacted in some states and called for Republicans to be more moderate on the issue,[98] and said she would only support legislation that "has exceptions of rape or incest and the life of the mother".[99] Expounding on her views, she stated: "The vast majority of people want some sort of gestational limits, ... not at nine months, but somewhere in the middle. They want exceptions for rape and incest. They want women to have access to birth control. These are all very common-sense positions that we can take and still be pro-life."[100] Mace has voiced support for gestational limits of 15 to 20 weeks.[101]
In 2021, Mace was among a handful of Republican representatives who did not sign onto anamicus brief to overturnRoe v. Wade.[102] She criticized states enacting abortion bans without exceptions in the wake of the Supreme CourtoverturningRoe v. Wade in 2022. In an interview onFace the Nation, she said she disagreed with the recently passed abortion ban in Florida, which was signed into law by GovernorRon DeSantis: "Signing a six-week ban that puts women who are victims of rape and girls who are victims of incest and in a hard spot isn't the way to change hearts and minds. It's not compassionate. The requirements [DeSantis] has for rape victims are too much, not something that I support. It's a non-starter. I am a victim of rape. I was raped by a classmate at the age of 16. I am very wary, and the devil is always in the details, but we've got to show more care and concern and compassion for women who've been raped. I don't like that this bill was signed in the dead of night".[103]
In June 2021, Mace was one of 26 Republicans to vote for the Equal Access to Contraception for Veterans Act.[104] In January 2023, Mace introduced the Standing with Moms Act, which would create a website, life.gov, that would link women tocrisis pregnancy centers (non-profits established byanti-abortion groups primarily to persuade pregnant women not to have an abortion).[105]
In March 2022, Mace and RepresentativeVeronica Escobar introduced legislation to prohibit the confinement of pregnant pigs ingestation crates.[106] In October 2023, Mace led a letter to theHouse Agriculture Committee by 16 House Republicans opposing the inclusion of language in the 2023farm bill that would have overturned state farmanimal welfare laws banning gestation crates andbattery cages, including California'sProposition 12.[107] The letter argued that the legislation would infringe onstates' rights and disproportionately benefit foreign-owned agribusinesses like the Chinese-owned pork producerWH Group.
In recognition of her opposition tofederal preemption of state agricultural laws and support for reforms to federalcommodity checkoff programs, Mace received a leadership award from the Organization for Competitive Markets and Competitive Markets Action in February 2024.[108] In March 2024, Mace joined another House Republican letter opposing preemption of state agricultural laws, citing concerns about national security and foreign influence over the U.S. agricultural sector.[109]
Mace has been critical ofscientific experimentation on animals, which she describes as "taxpayer funded animal cruelty".[110] In April 2024, she introduced legislation to prohibit federal funding for experiments on dogs and cats.[111] In May 2024, in response to South Dakota GovernorKristi Noem admitting toshooting her pet dog, Mace co-founded the Congressional Dog Lovers Caucus alongside RepresentativesJared Moskowitz andSusan Wild.[112] In May 2025, Mace authored legislation to require that animals used in federal research laboratories be relocated or put up for adoption rather than killed.[113]
In May 2021, Mace and RepresentativeRosa DeLauro introduced legislation to ban thefarming of mink for fur, citing evidence that mink farming promotes the spread ofzoonotic disease. Mace described the practice of mink farming as "inhumane".[114] The legislation was passed by the House of Representatives as an amendment to theAmerica COMPETES Act of 2022 but was not included in the Senate version of the bill and did not become law.[115]
In April 2021, Mace voiced her opposition to a Democratic proposal to grant theDistrict of Columbiastatehood. She argued that Washington, D.C., was too small to qualify as a state, saying, "D.C. wouldn't even qualify as a singular congressional district."[116][117][118]
On May 31, 2023, Mace was among 71 House Republicans who voted against the final passage of theFiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 to raise the debt ceiling.[119] Mace was one of three Republican members of theProblem Solvers Caucus who voted against raising the debt ceiling that day. Two days later she appeared onSteve Bannon's podcast to claim, "the American people were spoon-fed a bed of lies" regarding the measure.[120]
During theprelude to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Mace wrote an article opposing military intervention in the conflict.[121]
In 2025, Mace supportedPresident Trump's proposal to send U.S. troops to take control of theGaza Strip and remove thePalestinians from the territory.[122]
During her2014 U.S. Senate campaign, Mace said "We must use any means possible to repeal, defund, and ultimately stopObamacare" because it will "suffocate individual liberty and further stifle economic growth".[11]
On August 15, 2024, Mace received nationally circulated criticism for repeatedly mispronouncing Vice President and Democratic presidential candidateKamala Harris' name after initially pronouncing her name correctly.[123][124][125] After saying "Kamala" correctly, Mace began to mispronounce the name and, when corrected by otherCNN panelists, Mace said "I will say Kamala's name any way that I want to."[126][127]
Mace was one of eight Republicans who voted for theremoval of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House and the only one of those eight not considered a far-right politician by a538 analysis of the118th Congress. She fell in the "Compromise Conservatives" cluster instead, which the analysis noted tended to vote against hard-right messaging amendments but oppose bipartisan spending bills.[128] Mace said she voted to vacate McCarthy out of distrust.[129]
Mace, while initially supportive ofLGBTQ rights when first elected to the House, shifted to a significantly more hostile position around and after the2024 presidential election campaign.
In 2021, theWashington Examiner wrote that Mace "is a supporter of both religious liberty andgay marriage."[130] Later that year, she told theExaminer, "I strongly supportLGBTQ rights and equality. No one should be discriminated against." She opposed theEquality Act, instead co-sponsoring a Republican alternative called the Fairness for All Act.[131] Mace was one of 31 Republicans to vote for the LGBTQ Business Equal Credit Enforcement and Investment Act in 2021,[132]and sponsored H.R.5776 – Serving Our LGBTQ Veterans Act, legislation establishing a Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) Veterans within theDepartment of Veterans Affairs, also in 2021.[133]
In July 2022, Mace was among 47 Republican representatives who voted in favor of theRespect for Marriage Act, which protects existing same-sex and interracial marriages under federal law.[134] She later said, "If gay couples want to be as happily or miserably married as straight couples, more power to them. Trust me, I've tried it more than once."[135]
Starting in 2025, Mace began making more statements critical ofgays andlesbians in public life, calling for books with LGBTQ themes to bebanned from schools and libraries. Mace frequently accuses gay and lesbian couples ofgrooming children, and has repeatedly referred to theCharleston County Public Library as a "grooming center".[136][137]
In March 2025, Mace criticized US SenatorElissa Slotkin for reading aloud from a children's book about LGBT tolerance, saying "The Left gets mad when we call them groomers but then continue to do this."[138]
On November 18, 2024, Mace introduced a resolution to prohibit "Members, officers, and employees of the House of Representatives" from using single-sex facilities (like restrooms, locker rooms, and changing rooms) in the Capitol or House Office Buildings that don't correspond to their "biological sex".[139] She specified in her press release that the bill was intended for transgender women,[140] and said in an interview that newly electedDelaware representativeSarah McBride, the first openly transgender member of the United States Congress, was "absolutely" the target of her bathroom resolution.[141] Mace described McBride as a "biological man trying to force himself into women's spaces" and as a "guy in a skirt", later following this up by saying "It's offensive that a man in a skirt thinks that he's my equal".[142][143]
On November 20, Mace introduced theProtecting Women's Private Spaces Act, which goes beyond her prior resolution to prohibit anyone from accessing or using single-sex facilities on any federal property unless that facility corresponds to the person's "biological sex", except for emergency medical personnel during an emergency or law enforcement officers during active pursuit or investigation.[144] As some trans activists were protesting her bill, Mace referred to them using the anti-transgender slur[145][146] "tranny", resulting in her posts on some social media being flagged for hateful content.[147][148][149][150]
At aHouse Oversight Committee hearing in February 2025, Mace again used the slur "tranny" to refer to trans people; when confronted, she repeated the word three times saying, "I don't really care."[151][152][153] She used the same slur during a confrontation with a transgender student atUniversity of South Carolina, as well as within the first few seconds of a hearing for an amendment that would prevent funding trans-related care for members of military families.[154]
At aDOGE subcommittee hearing in May 2025, Mace accusedFatima Goss Graves, CEO of theNational Women's Law Center, ofsexual grooming, saying "I didn't come here to play with an ideology hell-bent on erasing women and grooming children. That's what you all are, you're groomers."[155]
On September 12, 2025, in the aftermath of theassassination of Charlie Kirk, Mace said without basis that "it sounds like the shooter was a tranny or pro-tranny" before a suspect had been arrested.[156] On September 16, Mace said in a street interview that suspect Tyler Robinson had been "radicalized" by the transgender community to kill Kirk. She also said that transgender people were "mentally ill and should be in a straight jacket with a hard steel lock on it", and used the anti-transgender slur "tranny" several more times.[157]
Mace worked forDonald Trump's2016 presidential campaign,[158] but strongly condemned his actions surrounding theJanuary 6 U.S. Capitol attack. She asserted that Trump's legacy had been "wiped out" and that he should be held "accountable" for his actions. She later voted against impeaching him,[159][47] and, in2024, endorsed him in theRepublican presidential primary.
Mace opposed the first attempt to removeLiz Cheney as chair of theHouse Republican Conference, saying, "We should not be silencing voices of dissent. That is one of the reasons we are in this today, is that we have allowedQAnon conspiracy theorists to lead us."[160] In early May, Mace appeared at fundraiser events with Cheney. During the second attempt to remove Cheney as chair, however, Mace voted to remove her.[161]
In 2021, Mace introduced theStates Reform Act to removecannabis from theControlled Substances Act and regulate it similarly to alcohol.[162] She said: "This bill supports veterans, law enforcement, farmers, businesses, those with serious illnesses, and it is good for criminal justice reform. ... The States Reform Act takes special care to keep Americans and their children safe while ending federal interference with state cannabis laws."[163]
Mace has stated she believesspace aliens have "been interacting with humanity".[164]
In an interview withOutKick, Mace cited the cases ofBob Lazar andDavid Grusch to conclude that explanations ofUFO sightings that did not involve space aliens "didn't add up".[165]
During the2024 United States drone sightings Mace said she would not rule out the purported drones were from "outer space" or "outside the universe".[166] A joint investigation by civilian and military agencies of the U.S. government failed to find "anything anomalous" and said that sightings included mistaken aircraft and other objects.[167] State and local law enforcement as well as numerous independent experts reported similar conclusions.[168][169][170]
On October 21, 2021, Mace was one of nine House Republicans who voted to holdSteve Bannon incontempt of Congress for defying a subpoena to appear before theUnited States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack. Explaining her vote, Mace said she was being "consistent" and wanted to retain the exercise of "the power to subpoena" in the event that Republicans regained control of the House of Representatives in2022.[171]
Following the victory ofZohran Mamdani in the2025 New York City Democratic mayoral primary, Mace wrote anIslamophobic post against Mamdani, who is Muslim. Alongside a picture of Mamdani wearing traditional Muslim robes, Mace wrote "After9/11 we said 'Never Forget.' I think we sadly have forgotten."[172][173] After Mamdani was elected Mayor, Mace accused Mamdani of "bringingSharia law to America."[174]
Mace's first marriage was to Chris Niemiec, a lawyer andJAG Corps officer in theUnited States Air Force Reserve.[175] After they divorced, Mace married Curtis Jackson, with whom she had two children. They divorced in 2019.[176]
Mace became engaged to Patrick Bryant in 2022, but the couple broke up in 2023.[177][178] She said that she broke off the engagement after finding Bryant on a dating app, a claim he denied.[179][180] In February 2025, she gave a speech in the House of Representatives where she accused Bryant and three other men of physical abuse, rape, and sexual misconduct against her and other women.[181] All the men denied her accusations, with her ex-fiance adding that she had voiced them only in Congress in order to shield herself from the legal liability to which she would be exposed had she made those accusations anywhere else.[182] The following month, one of the men Mace accused, Brian Musgrave, sued her fordefamation.[183][184]
Mace resides onDaniel Island inCharleston, South Carolina.[185] On June 1, 2021, the Charleston Police Department opened an investigation after Mace's home was vandalized with profanity, three anarchy symbols, and graffiti in support of thePRO Act.[186]
Mace is anon-denominationalProtestant.[187] She has attendedSeacoast Church, a South Carolina-basedmegachurch.[188]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Lindsey Graham (incumbent) | 178,833 | 56.42% | |
| Republican | Lee Bright | 48,904 | 15.53% | |
| Republican | Richard Cash | 26,325 | 8.30% | |
| Republican | Det Bowers | 23,172 | 7.31% | |
| Republican | Nancy Mace | 19,634 | 6.19% | |
| Republican | Bill Connor | 16,912 | 5.34% | |
| Republican | Benjamin Dunn | 3,209 | 1.01% | |
| Total votes | 316,989 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Nancy Mace | 1,290 | 49.5% | |
| Republican | Mark Smith | 714 | 27.4% | |
| Republican | Shawn Pinkston | 373 | 14.3% | |
| Republican | Jarrod Brooks | 228 | 8.8% | |
| Total votes | 2,605 | 100.% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Nancy Mace | 1,695 | 62.6% | |
| Republican | Mark Smith | 1,012 | 37.4% | |
| Total votes | 2,707 | 100.0% | ||
_By_Precinct.png)
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Nancy Mace | 2,066 | 56.6% | |
| Democratic | Cindy Boatwright | 1,587 | 43.4% | |
| Total votes | 3,653 | 100.0% | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Nancy Mace | 8,778 | 62.2% | |
| Democratic | Jen Gibson | 4,640 | 35.8% | |
| Working Families | Jen Gibson | 278 | 2.0% | |
| Total votes | 14,106 | 100.0% | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Nancy Mace | 48,411 | 57.48% | |
| Republican | Kathy Landing | 21,835 | 25.92% | |
| Republican | Chris Cox | 8,179 | 9.71% | |
| Republican | Brad Mole | 5,800 | 6.89% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Nancy Mace | 216,042 | 50.6% | |||
| Democratic | Joe Cunningham (incumbent) | 210,627 | 49.3% | |||
| Write-in | 442 | 0.1% | ||||
| Total votes | 427,111 | 100.0% | ||||
| Republicangain fromDemocratic | ||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Nancy Mace (incumbent) | 39,470 | 53.14% | |
| Republican | Katie Arrington | 33,589 | 45.22% | |
| Republican | Lynz Piper-Loomis | 1,221 | 1.64% | |
| Total votes | 74,280 | 100% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Nancy Mace (incumbent) | 153,757 | 56.39% | |
| Democratic | Annie Andrews | 115,796 | 42.47% | |
| Alliance | Joseph Oddo | 2,634 | 0.97% | |
| Write-in | 494 | 0.18% | ||
| Total votes | 272,681 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Nancy Mace (incumbent) | 28,280 | 56.8 | |
| Republican | Catherine Templeton | 14,838 | 29.8 | |
| Republican | Bill Young | 6,687 | 13.4 | |
| Total votes | 49,805 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Nancy Mace (incumbent) | 227,235 | 58.3 | |
| Democratic | Michael Moore | 162,330 | 41.7 | |
| Total votes | 389,565 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
He also has a business partner, Nancy Mace—Folks notes that she is the first woman to graduate from The Citadel—who built the site and works as his promoter and occasional editor.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromSouth Carolina's 1st congressional district 2021–present | Incumbent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | United States representatives by seniority 266th | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |