Rep. Nancy Mace cruised to victory in her Congressional primary in a further blow to the waning influence of former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy.
According to ABC, Mace won the race with around 57 percent of the vote against the former South Carolina state director of labor, licensing and regulation Catherine Templeton, who received an endorsement and considerable financial support from McCarthy and his allies.
In her victory speech, Mace thanked Donald Trump for his endorsement.
“President Trump, South Carolina will have your back in November,” she said. Thank you all for standing by me and sticking with me, and many of you for sticking up for me.”
We did it – You, Lowcountry voters did it! A thousand times over – THANK YOU!#LowcountryFirst pic.twitter.com/z7Cr5yKWpF
— Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) June 12, 2024
While Mace had previously sought to distance herself from Trump in the wake of the January 6th protests, the pair have since reconciled and she has become a vociferous support of his campaign.
Mace’s victory will come as a significant blow to the influence of the former House Speaker, who has vowed to seek revenge against those who voted to oust him from his position just nine months after he was elected.
However, he is still hoping to unseat other Republicans responsible for ending his tenure, as Politico notes:
Another of the McCarthy targets, Rep. Bob Good (Va.), faces a primary race next week. But unlike Mace, the House Freedom Caucus chair isn’t benefiting from Trump’s support. The former president is instead backing Good’s opponent, state Sen. John McGuire, as are a handful of members of Congress. Good, who initially supported Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the presidential primary, has been outraised and outspent on the airwaves by McGuire.
Rep. Eli Crane (Ariz.) also voted to oust McCarthy and faces a primary later this summer. Two of McCarthy’s other detractors — Rep. Matt Rosendale (Mont.) and former Rep. Ken Buck (Colo.) — aren’t running for reelection, while two others — Burchett and Rep. Andy Biggs (Ariz.) — don’t have a primary opponent.
Either way, it is fair to say that McCarthy’s revenge tour is not off to the greatest of starts.
