Representative Nancy Mace has officially launched her bid for governor of South Carolina, entering a highly competitive Republican primary to succeed term-limited Governor Henry McMaster.

God isn't done with South Carolina, and neither am I, Mace wrote in an X post announcing the release. You and me. Our mission begins now.

Nancy Ruth Mace is a politician who has served as the U.S. Representative for South Carolina's 1st congressional district since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served in the South Carolina General Assembly from 2018 to 2020.

President Donald Trump has not endorsed any candidates in the race, but Mace's first campaign video includes a clip of the president saying, “Nancy Mace, she's a fighter. I know, she's a fighter.”

And her campaign platform calls for “zero tolerance for crime,” reducing the state income tax to zero, and curbing the “radical gender agenda” and “progressive ideology” in South Carolina schools.

“We’re going to ban pronouns in the classroom,” Mace said Monday morning as he outlined his political platform. “I don’t want to see glitter parties. I want kids to come home with straight A’s, not straight A’s. We’re going to have technology-free school zones.”

“We will not fund any school that allows biological males into girls’ restrooms or locker rooms, that allows boys to compete in girls’ sports, or any school that promotes gender ideology,” he added.

Mace joined a tight Republican field to succeed Republican Gov. Henry McMaster, which includes Rep. Ralph Norman (S.C.), Attorney General Alan Wilson, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, and Sen. Josh Kimbrell.

Mace has also responded to criticism of his candidacy, highlighting his relationship with President Trump and his aggressive stance on immigration and transgender rights, calling them “worth fighting.”

“There’s nothing combative about wanting a bigger, better, brighter future for the entire state of South Carolina,” he told News Nation Monday night.

At a campaign rally Wednesday, Mace also backed Texas’ efforts to redraw its congressional map, telling reporters he would “arrest the Texas Legislature” and supports “Texas Republican Gov. Greg] Abbott in the Texas Legislature to do what’s fair, what’s right,” according to CNN.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, will also face a Republican challenger in his 2026 reelection campaign. Paul Dans, the original author of Project 2025, a sweeping conservative agenda to overhaul the federal government, announced his candidacy at an event in Charleston on July 30. Primaries for both parties will be held on June 9, 2026.