Nancy Mace

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Nancy Mace
Nancy Mace.jpg
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from South Carolina's 1st district
Assumed office
January 3, 2021
Preceded byJoe Cunningham
Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives
from the 99th district
In office
January 23, 2018 – November 8, 2020
Preceded byJames Merrill
Succeeded byMark Smith
Personal details
Born
Nancy Ruth Mace

(1977-12-04) December 4, 1977 (age 43)
Fort Bragg, North Carolina, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)
Chris Niemiec
​
​
(m. 1999; div. 2002)​

Curtis Jackson
​
​
(m. 2004; div. 2019)​
Children2
EducationThe Citadel (BS)
University of Georgia (MS)
WebsiteHouse website

Nancy Ruth Mace (born December 4, 1977) is an American businesswoman, author, and politician serving as the U.S. Representative for South Carolina's 1st congressional district since 2021. Her district includes much of the state's share of the East Coast, from Charleston to Hilton Head Island.

In 1999, Mace was the first woman to graduate from the Corps of Cadets program at The Citadel. From 2018 to 2020, she represented the 99th district in the South Carolina House of Representatives, covering Hanahan, northeast Mount Pleasant, and Daniel Island. Mace is the first Republican woman to be elected to Congress from South Carolina.[1]

Early life, education, and career[]

Mace was born at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to United States Army officer James Emory Mace and schoolteacher Anne Mace. In 1999 she became the first woman to graduate from The Citadel's Corps of Cadets program,[2] receiving a degree in business administration.[3] Mace wrote In the Company of Men: A Woman at The Citadel (Simon & Schuster, 2001) about that experience.

Mace went on to earn a master's degree in journalism and mass communication from the Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia.[4]

In 2008, Mace started a consulting business called The Mace Group.[3]

Early political career[]

On August 3, 2013, Mace announced that she would seek the Republican Party nomination for the United States Senate in South Carolina in the 2014 election.[5] She received 6.2% of the vote with 19,560 votes cast in the Republican primary.[6]

Mace worked for Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign in South Carolina.[7]

South Carolina House of Representatives[]

Elections[]

2017 special[]

On September 18, 2017, Mace announced and filed as a Republican to run in a special election for the South Carolina State House District 99 seat being vacated by Jimmy Merrill, who resigned earlier that month after an indictment and plea deal for several ethics violations.[citation needed] She received 49.5% of the vote in the November 14 Republican primary, 13 votes short of winning the nomination outright. She defeated the second-place finisher, Mount Pleasant town councilman Mark Smith, in the November 28 runoff, 63–37%.

Mace defeated Democrat Cindy Boatright in the January 16, 2018, general election, 2,066 votes to 1,587 (57–43%).[8] She took office on January 23, 2018.

2018[]

Mace defeated the Democratic nominee, Mount Pleasant resident Jen Gibson, in the November 6 general election.

Tenure[]

In 2019, Mace successfully advocated for the inclusion of exceptions for rape and incest in a fetal heartbeat abortion ban bill that passed the South Carolina state house. In a speech on the state house floor, Mace revealed that she had been raped at age 16. She has said she opposes abortion but does not believe the government has the right to tell a victim of rape or incest they do not have the right to an abortion.[9]

Mace co-sponsored a bill to oppose offshore drilling off South Carolina's coast.[10] She broke sharply with President Donald Trump's plan to offer oil drilling leases off of South Carolina beaches.[11]

The Conservation Voters of South Carolina gave Mace a 100% Lifetime rating for her voting record against offshore drilling and seismic testing.[12][13] The South Carolina Club for Growth gave Mace its 2019 Tax Payer Hero Award.[14][15]

In May 2020, Governor Henry McMaster signed Mace's prison reform bill, which ends the shackling of pregnant mothers in prison, into law.[16][17]

U.S. House of Representatives[]

Elections[]

2020[]

See also: 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina § District 1

In June 2019, Mace announced that she would seek the Republican nomination for South Carolina's 1st congressional district, centered in Charleston, and at the time represented by Democrat Joe Cunningham. Cunningham had won the seat in 2018 in a surprise victory, winning a district Trump had carried by 13 percentage points two years earlier. Mace faced Mount Pleasant City Councilwoman Kathy Landing and Bikers for Trump founder Chris Cox in the June 9 Republican primary. During her primary campaign, she ran an advertisement stating she would "help President Trump take care of our veterans", and in which Vice President Pence called her "an extraordinary American with an extraordinary lifetime of accomplishments—past, present and future.”[18] She won the primary with 57.5% of the vote.[19]

Mace focused her campaign on banning offshore drilling off South Carolina's coast and restoring South Carolina's low country's economy.[1]

In the November general election, Mace defeated Cunningham. She assumed office on January 3, 2021.[20]

Tenure[]

Mace was one of seven Republicans who publicly refused to support their colleagues' efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election on January 6, 2021. These seven signed a letter that, while giving credence to Trump's election fraud allegations, said Congress did not have the authority to influence the election's outcome.[21] Mace was so concerned by the hostile atmosphere Trump was generating in the District of Columbia that she sent her children home to South Carolina before the congressional vote to accept the Electoral College votes.[22] After a rioting mob attacked the House and Senate buildings, Mace pleaded with Trump to condemn it. While locked down in her Capitol office she told CBSN's Red & Blue host Elaine Quijano, "I'm begging the president to get off Twitter."[23]

Mace, along with all other Senate and House Republicans, voted against the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.[24]

On May 18, 2021, Mace joined 61 other House Republicans to vote against the Covid-19 Hate Crimes Act, which condemned acts of hate against Asian-Americans and streamlined data collection and reporting about such occurrences. The bill previously passed the U.S. Senate on a 94-1 vote.[25][26][27] Mace said she opposed the bill because it did not address perceived discrimination against Asian-Americans in higher education.[28]

Committee assignments[]

Political positions[]

She opposes the Affordable Care Act, saying, "We must use any means possible to repeal, defund and ultimately stop Obamacare."[32]

In April 2021, Mace voiced her opposition to a Democratic proposal to grant the District of Columbia statehood, saying, "D.C. wouldn't even qualify as a singular congressional district." CNN "surmised that Mace was suggesting DC's population is too small for it to qualify as a congressional district", which would not have been true, since there are congressional districts with fewer residents than D.C.[33][34]

LGBT Rights[]

Mace supports same-sex marriage.[35] She is a vocal supporter of the Fairness for All Act, which adds sexual orientation and gender identity to federal anti-discrimination law without directly affecting religious institutions. Mace wrote an op-ed in support of the act, saying "I strongly support LGBTQ rights and equality. No one should be discriminated against."[36]

Mace was one of 31 Republicans to vote for the LGBTQ Business Equal Credit Enforcement and Investment Act.[37][38]

Contraception[]

Mace was one of 26 Republicans to vote for the Equal Access to Contraception for Veterans Act. Some Republicans have called it "taxpayer funding for abortion."[39]

Iraq[]

In June 2021, Mace was one of 49 House Republicans to vote to repeal the AUMF against Iraq.[40][41]

Personal life[]

Mace resides in Charleston, South Carolina, on Daniel Island.[42] She has two children with her ex-husband Curtis Jackson, whom she divorced in 2019.[43] Mace was previously married to Chris Niemiec.[44]

On June 1, 2021, Mace's home was vandalized with profanity and graffiti. The Charleston Police Department has opened an investigation.[45]

Electoral history[]

South Carolina State House District 99 Republican Primary, 2017 (Special)[46]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Nancy Mace* 1,290 49.5%
Republican Mark Smith* 714 27.4%
Republican Shawn Pinkston 373 14.3%
Republican Jarrod Brooks 228 8.8%
Total votes 2,605 100.%
South Carolina House District 99 Special Election, 2018
South Carolina State House District 99 Republican Primary Runoff, 2017 (Special)[47]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Nancy Mace 1,695 62.6%
Republican Mark Smith 1,012 37.4%
Total votes 2,707 100.0%
South Carolina State House District 99 General Election, 2018
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Nancy Mace 8,778 62.2%
Democratic Jen Gibson 4,640 35.8%
Working Families Jen Gibson 278 2.0%
Total votes 14,106 100.0%
Republican hold
Nancy Mace vs. Jen Gibson, general election in South Carolina 99th House District on November 6, 2018
South Carolina State House District 99 Election, 2018 (Special)[48]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Nancy Mace 2,066 56.6%
Democratic Cindy Boatwright 1,587 43.4%
Total votes 3,653 100.0%
Republican hold
South Carolina's 1st congressional district, Republican primary 2020
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Nancy Mace 48,411 57.48%
Republican Kathy Landing 21,835 25.92%
Republican Chris Cox 8,179 9.71%
Republican Brad Mole 5,800 6.89%
South Carolina's 1st congressional district, 2020[50]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Nancy Mace 216,042 50.6
Democratic Joe Cunningham (incumbent) 210,627 49.3
Write-in 442 0.1
Total votes 427,111 100.0
Republican gain from Democratic

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Stabile, Angelica (November 9, 2020). "13 GOP women join the House, dominating congressional elections, making history". FOX News. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  2. ^ "Maxine Hudson". The Citadel. May 29, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "Nancy Mace". The Citadel. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  4. ^ Brett, Jennifer (September 4, 2016). "Nancy Mace became first woman to graduate from The Citadel". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  5. ^ "Nancy Mace Will Seek Nomination for US Senate". Nancymace.org. August 3, 2013.
  6. ^ Martin, Jonathan (June 11, 2014). "In South Carolina, Graham Prevails Without a Runoff". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  7. ^ Byrd, Caitlin (January 20, 2018). "Nancy Mace gives South Carolina Legislature its first state lawmaker with clear ties to Trump". The Post and Courier. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  8. ^ Estabrook, Katie (January 19, 2018). "Republican Nancy Mace Secures State House District 99 Seat". The Daniel Island News. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  9. ^ Byrd, Caitlin (May 14, 2019). "It took SC Rep. Nancy Mace 25 years to share she was raped. She never expected this". The Post & Courier. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  10. ^ Tripp, Drew (September 8, 2020). "Trump puts 10-year ban on offshore oil drilling off SC coast". WCIV. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  11. ^ Fears, Darryl (February 28, 2018). "For many Republicans, Trump's offshore drilling plan and beaches don't mix". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  12. ^ "Nancy Mace". Conservation Voters of South Carolina. Conservation Voters of South Carolina. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  13. ^ Novelly, Thomas (September 13, 2020). "SC 1st Congressional District: Cunningham and Mace differ on climate change science views". The Post and Courier. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  14. ^ Antle, W. James II (June 11, 2020). "Winner in GOP South Carolina House primary shows Trump imprimatur still a big advantage". The Washington Examiner. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  15. ^ "Cunningham, Mace spar over taxes, Parris Island, voting record in Congressional debate". WCIV. October 6, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  16. ^ Benson, Adam (May 21, 2020). "SC becomes 43rd state to outlaw shackling of pregnant inmates". The Post and Courier. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  17. ^ "Governor McMaster signs bill banning shackling of pregnant inmates". ABC Columbia. Associated Press. May 22, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  18. ^ Byrd, Caitlin (April 14, 2020). "SC congressional candidate Nancy Mace touts Trump ties in new TV ad". The Post and Courier. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  19. ^ "Live: South Carolina State Primary Election Results 2020". The New York Times. June 24, 2020. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  20. ^ Rivera, Ray; Phillips, Patrick; Jacobs, Harve; Donahue, Lillian (November 3, 2020). "Nancy Mace wins U.S. House race beating Joe Cunningham". live5news.com. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  21. ^ Budryk, Zack (January 3, 2021). "Coalition of 7 conservative House Republicans says they won't challenge election results". The Hill. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  22. ^ Back, George (January 7, 2020). "New congresswoman sent children home prior to assault on Capitol: 'My motherly instincts said this doesn't feel right'". Yahoo News. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  23. ^ "Rep. Nancy Mace: 'I'm begging the president to get off Twitter' as protesters storm Capitol". Red & Blue. January 6, 2021. CBS News. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  24. ^ Carl Hulse (March 6, 2021). "After Stimulus Victory in Senate, Reality Sinks in: Bipartisanship Is Dead". New York Times.
  25. ^ Sprunt, Barbara. "Congress Passes Bill To Counter The Rise In Anti-Asian Hate Crimes". National Public Radio. National Public Radio. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  26. ^ "Roll Call 145: Bill Number: S. 937". United States House of Representatives: Roll Call Votes. U.S. House of Representatives. May 18, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  27. ^ "Roll Call Vote 117th Congress - 1st Session: On Passage of the Bill (S. 937, As Amended )". U.S. Senate. United States Senate. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  28. ^ Aguilar, Amanda. "Lawmakers speak after House passes COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act". WTOC. Live. Local. Now. Gray Media Group, Inc. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  29. ^ Mace, Nancy (January 25, 2021). "Mace Appointed to Key House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee". U.S House of Representatives. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  30. ^ Mace, Nancy (January 26, 2021). "Mace Appointed to Key Oversight and Reform Committee". U.S House of Representatives. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  31. ^ "Mace Appointed to Veterans' Affairs Committee | Representative Nancy Mace". mace.house.gov. January 26, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  32. ^ Harper, Scott (April 24, 2014). "Graham faces tough opponents". The Post and Courier. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  33. ^ Dale, Daniel (April 20, 2021). "Fact-checking Nancy Mace's claim that DC wouldn't 'qualify' as a single congressional district". CNN. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  34. ^ Bump, Philip. "Analysis | Low population is not a reason to deny D.C. statehood, as Wyoming can attest". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  35. ^ https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/the-new-republican
  36. ^ https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/exclusive-rep-nancy-mace-on-why-she-supports-lgbt-rights-religious-liberty-compromise-legislation
  37. ^ https://www.gaycitynews.com/house-passes-lgbtq-small-business-loan-data-collection-bill/
  38. ^ https://clerk.house.gov/evs/2021/roll162.xml
  39. ^ https://thehill.com/homenews/house/560161-house-passes-veterans-contraception-lgbtq-business-bills-previously-blocked-by
  40. ^ "House votes to repeal 2002 Iraq War authorization".
  41. ^ https://clerk.house.gov/evs/2021/roll172.xml
  42. ^ "Nancy Mace For US Senate, Biography". Nancymace.org. August 3, 2013.
  43. ^ Karomo, Chege (November 9, 2020). "Is Nancy Mace Married? Details on her personal life". The Netline. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  44. ^ In The Company of Men, Biography. 2001.
  45. ^ 'Very scary': Vandalism at home of SC Congresswoman Nancy Mace highlights new threats to politicians, June 2, 2021, retrieved June 5, 2021
  46. ^ Beahm, Grace (November 14, 2017). "S.C. House District 99 candidates Nancy Mace and Mark Smith heading to runoff | Palmetto Politics". postandcourier.com. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  47. ^ Byrd, Caitlin (November 28, 2017). "Nancy Mace takes win in Republican runoff for Statehouse District 99 | Palmetto Politics". postandcourier.com. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  48. ^ Byrd, Caitlin (January 16, 2018). "Republican Nancy Mace wins Statehouse District 99 election | Palmetto Politics". postandcourier.com. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  49. ^ "2020 Primary Results". South Carolina Election Commission. 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  50. ^ "2020 Statewide General Election Night Reporting - Results". South Carolina Election Commission. November 10, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2020.

External links[]

South Carolina House of Representatives
Preceded by
James H. Merrill 		Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives
from the 99th district
2018–2020 		Succeeded by
Mark Smith
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Joe Cunningham 		Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from South Carolina's 1st congressional district
2021–present 		Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Teresa Leger Fernandez 		United States representatives by seniority
404th 		Succeeded by
Nicole Malliotakis
  • v
  • t
South Carolina's delegation(s) to the 117th–present United States Congresses (ordered by seniority)
117th Senate:   L. Graham (R) •   T. Scott (R) House:   J. Clyburn (D) •   J. Wilson (R) •   J. Duncan (R) •   T. Rice (R) •   R. Norman (R) •   W. Timmons (R) •   N. Mace (R)
Retrieved from ""