By Mike McCombs
The Island News
PORT ROYAL – U.S. Representative Nancy Mace braved the chilly winds just after sunset on Thursday, Feb. 22, as she hosted a town hall-type meeting behind ShellRing Ale Works.
Several dozen people endured the cold along with her to see what the Charleston Republican had to say.
Mace touted her record on cyber security and talked about a bill she recently supported that would allow certain people to be hired by the federal government without a college degree, particularly those that work in the cyber security field. Mace said some of the sharpest computer minds out there aren’t anywhere close to a college degree, and the U.S. needs them if we are to stay ahead of China in the technology game.
She talked about border security, claiming the bill Republicans and Democrats recently worked out … before the Republicans took the advice of former President Donald Trump and walked away from it … was not a serious bill. This despite the fact the GOP was getting some things they wanted.
Mace said no serious bill would be negotiated unless it started with House Resolution 2 (https://bit.ly/4bX8i55).
If someone is telling you we’re not serious about border security, “they’re not playing with the facts,” Mace said.
When she turned to questions from the gathered crowd, she immediately dealt with a veteran unhappy with the Veterans Administration’s response to his health issues.
Mace told him to skip everything else and “call my office.”
In the 2024 election, Mace faces opposition from both parties, including four Republican challengers.
Mount Pleasant Republican Catherine Templeton announced her candidacy earlier this month. She was appointed director of the S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation in December 2010, and then the state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) chief in 2012, both under Gov. Nikki Haley. She ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2018.
In January, in a rare move, Mace’s former chief-of-staff Dan Hanlon filed to run for her seat. His filing came as several media outlets published stories citing strife and high turnover in Mace’s congressional office. Hanlon worked in the Office of Management and Budget during the Trump administration and was a staff member of former Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.).
Also running is Austin Anderson – he announced his candidacy back in February 2023. He’s an Uber driver who calls himself a “gay, anti-establishment Republican,” according to the Island Packet.
Bill Young has filed to run for the seat, as well.
On the Democratic side, there are two candidates – Charleston attorney Mac Deford, a Coast Guard veteran and graduate of The Citadel, and businessman Michael B. Moore, the great-great grandson of Beaufort’s Robert Smalls.
The S.C. Republican and Democratic primaries will be held on Tuesday, June 11, 2024.
Mike McCombs is the Editor of The Island News and can be reached at TheIslandNews@gmail.com.
