Republican touts record during Port Royal appearance
By Tony Kukulich
PORT ROYAL – U.S. Representative Nancy Mace, R-SC01, made a stop in Port Royal as she campaigns to retain her seat in the November general election.
Speaking without the benefit of a microphone, Mace had to nearly shout to be heard above her supporters and patrons inside the busy Shellring Ale Works. The message she delivered focused on her legislative achievements since her election to the House in 2020.
“I am a tried and true conservative,” Mace said. “I also know how important it is to work with Democrats in order to be successful and achieve things for the 1st Congressional District and getting results. You’re going to see that I have passed over 20 bills in my first year and a half in office out of committee. Of those 20 bills, I’ve passed seven on the floor of the House. I cannot do that alone. I do that by building bridges with the other side.”
Stating that she runs her office like a business instead of a bureaucracy, Mace discussed the 2021 annual report that her office produced.
“You can see the amount of grant funding that we were able to get for the district, which was over $50 million,” she said. “So far this year, because we’re cooking with gas, we’ve gotten over $100 million in funding for the Lowcountry and the 1st Congressional District.”
She continued by touting her record of supporting civil rights veterans issues and environmental concerns.
“I was one of the founding members of the Conservative Climate Caucus,” she noted.
Mace’s first foray into politics was a 2014 run for the U.S. Senate in which she finished fifth out of a field of seven candidates vying for the Republican nomination. Incumbent Lindsey Graham won that primary and the general election.
Her next attempt at elected office met with greater success. She earned the Republican nomination in a January 2018 special election for the South Carolina State House District 99. The special election was necessitated by the resignation of Rep. James Merrill. Mace won that seat and kept it in the November 2018 general election.
Moving onto the national stage, Mace campaigned for the 1st District seat in the 2020 election, narrowly defeating incumbent Democrat Joe Cunningham.
In June of this year, Mace defeated Republican primary challenger Katie Arrington, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, securing her reelection bid in the general election.
Mace will face Democrat Annie Andrews, a political newcomer, in November as well as Joseph Oddo from the Alliance Party and Independent Alejandro Otman.
“Right now, being a fiscal conservative, that’s the kind of leadership we need,” Mace said. “Inflation is wreaking havoc on Lowcountry families all over. We’re all celebrating that gas is under $4. Three years ago, it was under $2. It’s costing a very expensive pair of basketball shoes every time you fill up, and that hurts.”
Mace is confident about her chances in November.
“We’re very high up in the polls with a double-digit lead right now,” Mace told The Island News. “(Andrews) jumped into the arena, and I respect anyone who decides to run for office. I’m running on my record of accomplishments, which are pretty vast and lengthy, along with accomplishments for the Lowcountry, both as a state lawmaker and now as a member of Congress.”
Just days into her tenure in Congress, Mace stirred the ire of Trump Republicans when she denounced then-President Trump in the wake of the January 6 riot in the Capital. Additionally, she voted to certify Joe Biden’s 2020 election win in spite of Trump’s unfounded claims to the contrary. She did not, however, vote to impeach Trump. Nor did she vote for a special investigation of the events of Jan. 6.
While Trump endorsed Arrington in the June Republican primary and attacked Mace, Mace defeated Arrington by a comfortable margin. Following the primary win, Trump acknowledged in a social media post that Arrington was a long-shot candidate and congratulated Mace on her victory.
“With Nancy, it’s always a little muddy,” Chip Felkel, a veteran Republican consultant in South Carolina, said in a Washington Post story. “She took a stand on January 6th, then she backtracked. It’s like a bad marriage with Trump — you get abused and berated, but you go back for more.”
During her appearance in Port Royal, Mace she would not simply tow the party line, but would do what was right for her district.
“I’ve learned a lot in my first year and a half,” Mace said. “I’m very excited. Whether it’s Republicans or Democrats in the majority, it doesn’t matter. I’ve been able to prove in the first year and a half that I’m going to get things done no matter what.
Tony Kukulich is a recent transplant to the Lowcountry. A native of Wilmington, Del., he comes to The Island News from the San Francisco Bay Area where he spent seven years as a reporter and photographer for several publications. He can be reached at tony.theislandnews@gmail.com.
