Nancy Mace: Catching Flak Over Her Target

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by WILL FOLKS

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As South Carolina first district congresswoman Nancy Mace makes her much-anticipated entry into the Palmetto State governor’s race next week, her front-running candidacy is continuing to receive incoming fire from her (many) detractors.

Along with four-term attorney general Alan Wilson, Mace is ensconced at the top of the GOP pack in this contest – a field which also features S.C. lieutenant governor Pamela Evette and fifth district congressman Ralph Norman.

While early polling shows broad swaths of the Palmetto State’s Republican electorate undecided, Mace and Wilson have established strong footholds in the governor’s race.

Those footholds are constantly coming under attack, however… with Mace doing her fair share of the attacking.

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Mace’s run-up to her campaign launch has featured plenty of drama – starting back in February with her “scorched earth” speech on the floor of the U.S. Congress. During that lengthy address, Mace excoriated her former fiancé Patrick Bryant and three other men, accusing them of all manner of atrocities against alleged female victims.

Mace’s allegations have sparked a criminal investigation by the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) and a veritable deluge of civil lawsuits – some filed by her, some filed against her and at least one filed by an alleged victim.

Along the way, Mace has repeatedly blasted Wilson for allegedly failing to protect victims in his role as attorney general.

“If you refuse to prosecute sex trafficking by rich, influential men, you should definitely not run for dog catcher, let alone governor,” Mace wrote on X in the days prior to her big speech.

Those attacks have only escalated as the race continues to unfold, but as Mace prepares to formally announce her candidacy – several guns are now pointed at her.

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Among them? Nalin Haley, son of former United Nations ambassador and 2024 presidential candidate Nikki Haley.

Nalin Haley lit into Mace on Wednesday (July 30, 2025), accusing her of betraying his mother – and incorrectly suggesting she voted to impeach Donald Trump. The younger Haley’s account is viewed by many political operatives as a window into what his mother is truly thinking – but may not want to say publicly.

“You voted to impeach him… and agreed to endorse Nikki Haley until you got scared and backed out like a spineless coward,” Nalin Haley wrote of Mace. “You’re the most selfish person in office, a fraud, and an embarrassment to South Carolina who lacks the leadership skills needed to even be a manager at Waffle House.”

Haley later wrote “no one would know who (Mace) is” without his mother, who gave the future congresswoman a key endorsement in the latter’s 2020 congressional campaign – and followed it up with an even more important imprimatur in the 2022 GOP primary.

If there was a “quo” expected from that “quid,” Haley didn’t get it…

As if Nalin Haley’s broadside wasn’t enough, Mace was also dealing with the fallout from a sworn statement issued by one of her former key staffers – John Mason Long. Included as an appendix in one of the many court cases Mace has found herself embroiled in, Long’s affidavit – submitted two months ago – seemed to echo many of the claims contained in a bombshell deposition taken earlier this year of her former lead strategist, Wesley Donehue.

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Specifically, Long claimed Mace “discussed with me potential strategies involving the use of data or materials from Patrick Bryant to gain leverage in property disputes,” discussions he claims to have “discouraged.” He further “refused any requests by Mace to approve personal expenses through campaign funds or to engage in potentially unlawful activities” related to Mace’s dispute with Bryant.

Long also accused Mace of using “alcohol during working hours” and using campaign funds for personal expenses.

“I submitted the affidavit pursuant to a formal subpoena issued on May 30, 2025,” Long said. “It reflects my firsthand observations while serving as campaign manager for congresswoman Nancy Mace between February and May 2024. The contents are truthful, sworn under penalty of perjury, and speak for themselves.”

“My decision to cooperate was not motivated by politics or personal grievance, but by a sense of obligation to truth and accountability in public service to follow the rule of law,” he continued.

While Long’s stated pursuit of “truth and accountability” may be genuine, Mace has plenty of enemies who are clearly sharpening their knives for her… none of which seems to have her remotely worried.

As I have previously observed, Mace doesn’t shy away from fights… she goes looking for them. Which, it’s worth noting, is probably one of the reasons she is polling so well in this race. Even her detractors are loathe to admit the 47-year-old Fort Bragg, N.C. native – who resides on Daniel Island just north of Charleston, S.C. – is the sort of no-holds-barred, Trump-style brawler many GOP primary voters want to see in the governor’s office.

Not surprisingly, her campaign is leaning into that messaging as it prepares to officially launch…

“President Trump needs America First governors,” her campaign noted in touting next week’s event. “South Carolina needs a fighter. Join us for the official start of a new South Carolina FIRST golden era.”

Mace will kick off her campaign at the Capers Hall Courtyard at The Citadel, South Carolina’s military college, at 7:30 a.m. EDT on Monday (August 4, 2025). Count on FITSNews to provide coverage of that event…

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.

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