Republican South Carolina Congresswoman Nancy Mace has endorsed former President Donald Trump in the 2024 primary race over fellow South Carolinian and the state’s former governor, Nikki Haley.
“Today I’m endorsing Donald J. Trump for President,” Ms. Mace announced on Monday morning statement. “I don’t see eye to eye perfectly with any candidate. And until now I’ve stayed out of it. But the time has come to unite behind our nominee.”
Ms. Mace’s announcement came less than a day after Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out of the Republican primary contest, narrowing the field of candidates down to just President Trump and Ms. Haley, who lives in her congressional district and supported her in 2022 against a Trump-backed Republican primary challenger.
Ms. Mace had stayed out of the 2024 Republican primary after Ms. Haley and another South Carolinian—Sen. Tim Scott—stepped into the race. Her endorsement now comes a day before the New Hampshire primary and about a month before the Feb. 24 South Carolina primary.
Explaining her choice, Ms. Mace indicated she favored President Trump’s known record in the White House.
“To be honest, it’s been a complete [expletive] show since he left the White House. Our country needs to reverse all the damage Joe Biden has done,” Ms. Mace said. “By every barometer, our lives and our nation were better under President Trump. The economy was booming, our border was locked down and our nation and her allies were safer because our adversaries feared him. Donald Trump’s record in his first term should tell every American how vital it is he be returned to office.”
Trump and Mace Have Clashed
Though she’s now backing President Trump’s 2024 bid, Ms. Mace has clashed with the 45th president in the past.
Ms. Mace criticized President Trump shortly after the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, telling South Carolina’s Post and Courier that “every accomplishment that Republicans have made over the last four years, including President Trump had [made]” were “wiped out in just a few short hours” by the events of that day.
Though President Trump had supported Ms. Mace’s 2020 congressional campaign, his support for her stopped after she blamed him for the events of Jan. 6.
The former president listed Ms. Mace in a November 2021 statement, asking if there was “any interest from good and SMART America First Republican Patriots” to come forward to challenge Ms. Mace and other sitting Republican members of Congress.
The former president eventually backed Ms. Mace’s opponent, Katie Arrington, ahead of the 2022 South Carolina Republican congressional primary, saying Ms. Arrington was a “true Republican” while saying Ms. Mace’s “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.” Ms. Haley, meanwhile, backed Ms. Mace, helping raise money and appearing in a television ad on her behalf calling her a “fighter.”
President Trump congratulated Ms. Mace in June of 2022, after she defeated Ms. Arrington to win her 2022 primary.
Last spring, reports circulated that President Trump was considering Ms. Mace among several potential contenders to be his 2024 running mate. Ms. Mace told Politico that she’s “willing to bury the hatchet to save the country, and I know President Trump is too.”
NTD News reached out to Ms. Haley’s campaign team for comment on Ms. Mace’s decision to endorse President Trump but did not receive a response by press time.
Trump Leads Haley in SC Congressional Endorsements and Polls
Ms. Mace’s endorsement means that President Trump has secured endorsements from four of South Carolina’s six Republican U.S. House members, with Reps. Russell Fry, Joe Wilson, and William Timmons also backing him. Rep. Ralph Norman is backing Ms. Haley, while Rep. Jeff Duncan has indicated he will not endorse anyone before the primary.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) spoke on President Trump’s behalf at his first 2024 campaign rally in January of last year. Mr. Scott, who dropped out of the 2024 presidential primary race in November, also endorsed President Trump’s 2024 bid on Friday.
The former president also leads the former South Carolina governor in primary polls in the state.
According to the latest RealClearPolitics polling average for the Feb. 24 Republican Presidential Primary, President Trump holds the support of about 52 percent support in the state’s primary, against 21.8 percent who supported Ms. Haley. The most recent RCP polling average showed about 11 percent support for Mr. DeSantis and about 3.3 percent support for businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, both of whom have since dropped out and endorsed President Trump.
According to the latest polling average compiled by 538, President Trump holds about 60.9 percent support in the South Carolina Republican Presidential Primary, compared to 24.8 percent support for Ms. Haley.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.