Rep. Nancy Mace (RS.C.) on Monday joined the growing list of South Carolina Republicans who are endorsing former President Trump over Nikki Haley ahead of New Hampshire's primary.
Mace, who caused particular uproar within House Republicans as one of eight Republicans who voted to expel Kevin McCarthy as speaker last year, told The Associated Press that he lives in the Congressional district and that He said he supports Trump more than Haley, who supports . In 2022, he will face a pro-Trump challenger.
“I don't completely agree with any of the candidates, and I've distanced myself from them in the past,” Mace told The Associated Press. “But it's time to come together in support of our candidates.”
Mace was absent from the 2024 Republican primary because fellow South Carolinians, former Gov. Haley and Sen. Tim Scott, joined the race last year. Scott, who abandoned his own 2024 candidacy in November and was nominated for the Senate by Haley in 2012, favored Trump over Haley in an impassioned call-and-response speech in New Hampshire on Friday. supported.
On Saturday, President Trump attended another rally in New Hampshire with South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, South Carolina's lieutenant governor, state officials from across the state, including the state's attorney general, treasurer, and speaker of the House, as well as Representative Joe Wilson. joined the podium. , William Timmons and Russell Fry.
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Congresswoman Nancy Mace has endorsed Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
Haley appeared on Fox News Monday morning and emphasized that she has won South Carolina twice and expects to do well in the upcoming Palmetto State primary.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis withdrew from the race on Sunday, leaving Haley as the leading Republican candidate to challenge Trump.
New Hampshire votes on Tuesday, while South Carolina's primary is a month away, and the state's Republican leadership is already largely aligned with Mr. Trump's supporters. Mace's endorsement means Trump has secured four of the state's six Republican House seats. Rep. Ralph Norman has endorsed Haley, and Rep. Jeff Duncan said before the primary that he would not support Haley.
Just two years ago, Ms. Mace and Ms. Haley were aligned in a Congressional primary that tested Mr. Trump's prestige in South Carolina, and Mr. Trump's own victory in the 2016 presidential primary led to Mr. Trump's nomination. Made it firm. After the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, Mace, who had just been sworn in as a freshman congressman, appeared on television to criticize Trump's role in the events of that day and criticize the president's accomplishments during his time in office. “It's ruined,” he said. It will come out within just a few hours. ”
Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event in Rochester, New Hampshire, Sunday, January 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
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President Trump responded by calling Mace an “absolutely terrible candidate” and saying he would run against a list of current House Republicans, including Mace, who he supported and campaigned for in his first run for office in 2020. I hope that first-rate Republican patriots will take an interest in this.” for his 2016 campaign.
When Katie Arrington launched her 2022 candidacy against Mace after an unsuccessful bid for the seat in 2018, she had President Trump's “full and complete support.” At a primary rally in South Carolina, President Trump called Mace “crazy” and a “terrible person.”
Meanwhile, Hayley stumbles in her relationship with Mace, just as she did in 2020, helping with fundraising and appearing in TV ads on Mace's behalf, calling him a “fighter.”
Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign stop at Brown's Lobster Pound on Sunday, January 21, 2024 in Seabrook, New Hampshire. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
But the two have reportedly not spoken since last year, when Mace's name was floated as a running mate if Trump won the Republican nomination.
Mace said Monday that he feels Trump is the better option this year.
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“Donald Trump's performance in his first term should tell all Americans how important it is that he returns to office,” she told The Associated Press.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
