POLITICS

Nancy Mace Leans ‘In,’ Faces Familiar Attacks

Knives out for South Carolina gubernatorial frontrunner…

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We predicted the 2026 GOP gubernatorial race in South Carolina would be a bloody affair… and early returns are certainly bearing out that prediction.

Last week we covered one of the first anonymous attacks targeting Nancy Mace – a third-term congresswoman from Daniel Island, S.C. who is one of the runaway frontrunners in the race for the Republican gubernatorial nomination.

Mace told reporter Meg Kinnard of The Associated Press earlier this week she was “seriously considering” a gubernatorial bid – and would make a decision within the next few weeks.

That announcement has prompted Mace’s rivals to open the bomb bay doors…

Last month, we reported extensively on a recycled attack against Mace which was published as an “exclusive” by The (U.K.) Daily Mail. This broadside focused on an infamous video which has made the rounds in Palmetto politics every time Mace has run for office… dating back to 2017.

Filmed in 2015, it was uploaded to Twitter on November 23, 2017 – five days before Mace thrashed state representative Mark Smith, an intimate of former governor Nikki Haley, in a GOP State House runoff election.

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Commonly referred to in Palmetto political circles as the “drinking game” video, the clip depicts Mace and three friends playing “baby bird” – a.k.a. “momma bird” – an admittedly less-than-sanitary exercise in which one person consumes a shot of alcohol and endeavors to pass it on to the next party-goer by mouth.

Despite primary voters being completely unmoved by the video, Mace’s Democrat opponent Cindy Boatwright continued to make hay over it in the general election – claiming the “shocking” clip demonstrated Mace’s “immaturity, irresponsibility and lack of fitness for public office.”

Once again, voters didn’t care – sending Mace to the State House over Boatwright with 57 percent of the vote on January 16, 2018.

The video resurfaced nearly two years later ahead of Mace’s first congressional campaign – which saw her win a hard-fought GOP primary en route to defeating incumbent Democrat congressman Joe Cunningham. In that race, the clip was salaciously touted as a “bisexual video” in a shadowy out-of-state phone message sent to thousands of GOP primary voters.

Voters’ response to the clip this go-round? Another collective eye-roll… as I noted at the time.

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RELATED | MSM RECYCLE MACE VIDEO

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The clip resurfaced again in 2022 – when Mace beat back a GOP primary challenger endorsed by Donald Trump and a credible, well-funded Democrat opponent. It made the rounds again in 2024 when Mace – this time supported by Trump – defeated a challenger recruited by former GOP speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Every election cycle in which Mace was a candidate the video reared its head… and in every election cycle no one cared.

Will that change now that Mace is running statewide? And now that she must appeal more directly to evangelical interests?

As Mace’s gubernatorial aspirations gain momentum, scrutiny of the clip is ramping up. In fact, one of the stars of the video – New York police officer Allise Hemmerling – has reportedly been getting bombarded for comment by numerous national media outlets.

Hemmerling, 41, of Manchester, New Hampshire, has spent a combined 22 years protecting and serving as soldier and law enforcement officer. A captain in the U.S. National Guard, she’s currently a special agent for a railway police unit in Upstate New York.

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Hemmerling declined to comment on the video – or discuss her relationship with Mace at the time it was filmed. She told us she is supporting Mace’s bid for governor – and had some choice words for the media outlets stalking her for comment.

“This is why good people don’t run for office,” Hemmerling told FITSNews. “I support Nancy Mace 100%. It’s sad she’s being attacked like this – and that I’m collateral damage.”

Mace’s office wasn’t immediately available to respond to the latest revival of the drinking game video, but she has previously pointed the finger for negative attacks at her 2026 rivals.

Along with attorney general Alan Wilson, Mace is the runaway early frontrunner in the upcoming governor’s race. As noted in this week’s edition of our Palmetto Political Stock Index, FITSNews has been shown two separate polls which place Mace and Wilson both in the 20-30% range – depending on the survey.

No other would-be contender is even eclipsing 5% support…

As always, count on FITSNews to keep tabs on the latest developments in this upcoming race as it heats up…

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    ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

    Will Folks on phone
    Will Folks (Brett Flashnick)

    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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    3 comments

    Nanker Phelge January 23, 2025 at 3:54 pm

    “voters didn’t care”

    Voters don’t care about anything. They voted for a convicted felon who promised to release other convicted felons and is a pathological liar. This won’t hurt Mace, nor will traveling to NYC to support a felon wearing his red tie monkey suit will hurt Wilson.

    Reply
    Allen Bowers Top fan January 24, 2025 at 8:31 am

    Thank you Nanker for stating the unvarnished truth.

    Reply
    Terminator44 Top fan January 24, 2025 at 3:42 pm

    The vast majority of J6 defendants were facing misdemeanor charges – which means that they cannot be “convicted felons”. However, facts are nothing more than a mere annoyance for the misinformed few who frequently comment on Fits articles.

    Reply

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