(RepublicanInformer.com)- One Republican member of the House running for re-election believes she will be able to win back her seat despite former President Donald Trump endorsing one of her challengers in the primary.
Over the weekend, Representative Nancy Mace told local media outlet The State that she didn’t need the endorsement of the former president to win back her seat. She said:
“I’m going to win without him.”
To do so, she’s going to “spend every dime [and] break every record” as she seeks to win re-election. She continued:
“This district is unique in South Carolina. We march to the beat of our own drum. We respect people that have an independent voice. We respect it when you don’t tow the party line 100% of the time.”
Those sound like optimistic words, but things may not look so bright for Mace after Trump last week said she was “very disloyal” and “terrible.” The former president soured on Mace following the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021, when Mace condemned Trump’s actions leading up to that day’s events.
At the time, Mace said the former president’s “entire legacy was wiped out,” and that she believed he didn’t have a future in the Republican Party.
In response, Trump condemned Mace’s record in Congress and ultimately sided with one of her challengers in the Republican primary in her district in South Carolina, Katie Arrington. The former president believes Arrington is much more of what he calls a “true Republican.”
On February 9, Trump issued a formal endorsement of Arrington, saying in a statement:
“Katie Arrington is running against an absolutely terrible candidate, Congresswoman Nancy Mace, whose remarks and attitude have been devastating for her community, and not at all representative of the Republican Party to which she has been very disloyal. Katie Arrington, on the other hand, is liked and respected and a true Republican.”
Mace didn’t take that endorsement of one of her primary challengers lightly. She went and filmed a video in New York City outside of Trump Tower, warning her constituents that voting for Arrington would essentially be giving a vote to the Democratic Party, who would unquestionably defeat Arrington in the general election.
As Mace said in her video:
“If you want a Republican majority to thwart the radical far left DC Democrat agenda, then we’ve got to keep this seat in Republican hands. We’ve got to get a majority back. If you want to lose this seat once again in midterm election cycle to Democrats, then my opponent is more than qualified to do that.”
The State’s recent reports suggest that Mace might actually be right when she says she doesn’t need Trump’s support to win re-election. In polls that pit her against Arrington in a GOP primary, Mace holds a lead of double digits.
As a political analyst for the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, Kyle Kondik, recently commented:
“I just don’t think that Trump’s endorsement is the be-all and end-all of the race. It’s still a suburban kind of scene there. I’m sure that Trump is well-liked among the Republican electorate there, but there’s probably Trumpier primary electorates around the country.”
