Republicans nominated another strong, female candidate during Tuesday night’s primaries. Nancy Mace, a former state representative and the first female graduate of The Citadel, clinched the GOP nomination to take on incumbent Democratic Congressman Joe Cunningham in South Carolina’s first congressional district. The Republican primary was hotly contested between four contenders, in a district that President Trump carried by 13 points.
Mace’s victory is another win for Republican women seeking higher office. The South Carolina Republican was endorsed by Rep. Elise Stefanik’s PAC exclusively supporting GOP women, as Stefanik seeks to elect more Republican women to Congress. Thus far, Republican have dominated Congressional primaries as the party nominates an influx of women.
Congratulations to @NancyMace in #SC01! Nancy is running an excellent campaign and is well on her way to taking back the Lowcountry. On to November! pic.twitter.com/cb5NhLKxlt
— Elise Stefanik (@EliseStefanik) June 10, 2020
Mace received praise from House GOP leadership as the party seeks to flip key seats, including South Carolina’s first district:
Congrats @NancyMace! Job well done — let’s get the big W this November! #SC01 ???? https://t.co/cWoPUuLxYj https://t.co/hZic2gfpoK
— Kevin McCarthy (@kevinomccarthy) June 10, 2020
.@NancyMace is exactly the kind of battle-tested Conservative we need in Congress. I congratulate her on tonight’s primary victory, and look forward to watching her flip this district!
— Steve Scalise (@SteveScaliseGOP) June 10, 2020
The first congressional district is rated as a “toss up” by Inside Elections, Cook Political Report and Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball.
