Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., told Newsmax on Wednesday that she's running for governor to advance President Donald Trump's "America First" vision at the state level.
On "The Chris Salcedo Show," she said her campaign reflects both frustration with Washington gridlock and an opportunity to expand the Make America Great Again movement across state governments.
"We can do a lot more good because Congress is so dysfunctional, but the glass is also half full," Mace said when asked about the growing number of Republicans seeking governorships.
"I also see this as an opportunity to fulfill Donald Trump's legacy. His policies, America First, MAGA conservative ideology throughout the country by having MAGA governors, by having folks like Byron Donalds [in Florida] or [Marsha] Blackburn in Tennessee, Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio, Nancy Mace in South Carolina.
"I like to say I'm Trump in high heels."
Mace, a second-term Republican from Charleston, said the upcoming midterms offer conservatives a chance to "win it all" and solidify Trump's political influence beyond Washington.
"We have a huge opportunity here in the midterms next year to win it all and keep the House, keep the Senate, but also install real, true conservative governors in the face of Donald Trump like him, to continue his policies at the state level on down," she said.
Highlighting her record in South Carolina, Mace pointed to what she described as a successful effort to remove a sheriff she accused of pursuing what she calls "sanctuary" policies for illegal immigrants.
"I'll tell you, in South Carolina, they are a red state like the red shirt I'm wearing right now," Mace said. "We had a sanctuary sheriff last year who was letting off illegal aliens, rapists, murderers, and pedophiles.
"I was the only person statewide or in a higher elected office who stopped her in her tracks, in a county that Kamala Harris won by 11 points."
"I got a conservative sheriff elected. He won by 1 point, and on day one, he was working with ICE," she added.
Mace also criticized what she calls "leftist policies" taking root even in conservative states, citing examples from South Carolina universities.
"I had universities in South Carolina that had gender forms with 15 genders on them," she said. "And until I spoke up, it was happening in a red state."
Mace said that once she becomes governor, she will roll back what she described as "wokeness" and excessive government spending once.
"So I'm going to put a stop to all the wokeness, all the high taxes, all the crazy spending," she said.
A late September Co/efficient poll of 1,094 likely Republican voters shows Mace at 19%, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette at 18%, and Attorney General Alan Wilson at 16% — within 3 points of one another.
Rep. Ralph Norman follows with 10%, state Rep. Josh Kimbrell with 2%, and 35% remain undecided.
The poll, conducted Sept. 18-19 by text and phone, had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.17 percentage points.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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