2026 Governor’s Race: Alan Wilson Fires Back At Nancy Mace

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For the past three months, U.S. congresswoman Nancy Mace has been wearing out South Carolina attorney general Alan Wilson – her top presumed rival for the governor’s office of the Palmetto State in 2026.

Mace began her blistering offensive in early February with a self-described “scorched earth” speech in which she labeled Wilson a “do-nothing attorney general.” Since then, she’s focused on specific cases she claims showcase his ineffectiveness in protecting victims – particularly victims of child sex abuse.

“Alan Wilson protects pedophiles, not children,” she alleged.

Earlier this week, Mace went into extensive detail on one such example…

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Over 1,000 photos and videos involving 3-year-old toddlers, being r*ped by both animals and adults. 6 indictments were issued.

Attorney General Alan Wilson shamefully signed off on a 15-minute plea deal, protecting p*dophiles instead of victims. pic.twitter.com/xS59TbXNYG

— Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) May 5, 2025

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Then, over the Mother’s Day weekend, Mace highlighted multiple other cases in which she said Wilson’s office dropped charges against pedophiles and gave them a “slap on the wrist… if anything at all.”

“Another pedophile, another sweetheart deal,” Mace wrote on X regarding one case.

With Mace continuing to unload on him, Wilson posted his most detailed defense early Saturday (May 10, 2025).

“I will not stand by and allow someone to lie about, not only me, but the dedicated men and women in my office who’ve been in the trenches protecting kids for years,” Wilson wrote in a lengthy post on X. “A would-be candidate for Governor is attacking me, prosecutors, and our law enforcement partners who put their life on the line to protect children and catch predators. Enough is enough.”

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Wilson blasted Mace for inaccurately assigning blame – and falsely impugning the integrity of his office’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force.

“Over the course of the last several weeks, this would-be candidate has peddled lies and mistruths for her own political ambitions and clicks on social media,” Wilson continued. “Specifically, she has brought up a handful of cases from the last decade related to offenders that obtained illegal images of children. Let me be clear, our ICAC (Internet Crimes Against Children) division has worked to get these criminals before a judge and hold them accountable. Our objective is to indict, prosecute, and get them added to the sex offender registry.”

According to Wilson, since he took office the ICAC task has grown by “four times its original size” and executed “just under 3,000 arrests.” Wilson also noted his office’s ongoing efforts to empower prosecutors with the tools they need to go after child predators.

“Year after year, we’ve fought for legislation to protect children and strengthen our laws,” Wilson added. “Just this week we helped get an administrative subpoena bill passed that cuts red tape to get predators quicker, and we worked to make AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM) illegal.”

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Wilson also pointed out the sentences Mace is criticizing were not doled out not by his office – but by judges elected by the state legislature.

“When the would-be candidate for governor criticizes the attorney general’s office, she’s purposefully omitting the fact that judges give sentences, not prosecutors,” he said. “When she criticizes the prosecutors, she’s ignorant to the fact that often, our office is working in sync with a federal agencies that can get more time.”

“Our prosecutors and law enforcement officers are underpaid and overworked,” Wilson concluded. “Enough is enough. I won’t allow someone to use lies, misinformation, and half truths (at best) to cast a negative light on hardworking men and women of law enforcement.”

Mace wasted little time in firing back at the state’s top prosecutor, characterizing his response as an effort to shift the blame for his alleged “epic failures.”

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“When Alan Wilson gets called out for his epic failures as attorney general he blames law enforcement, victims, judges, any one else,” Mace wrote on X. “Don’t let him. Hold the line against his abuse and his generous contribution to breaking South Carolina’s justice system.”

Mace further accused Wilson of “once again attacking a survivor for calling out a broken system he’s part of.”

“If you ever wonder why I am so passionate, why I fight so hard for women and kids, it’s because I’ve lived what this system does to us,” she added. “I’m not special, I’m another statistic. Exposing failure is the only way to fix a broken system.”

Early polling has revealed Wilson and Mace to be at the top of the heap ahead of next spring’s GOP gubernatorial primary. U.S. congressman Ralph Norman and S.C. lieutenant governor Pamela Evette are also credible contenders, although recent speculation has centered around the plans of Lowcountry businessman Rom Reddy – founder of the DOGE SC movement.

Numerous other names continue to be floated as prospective candidates – including former two-term governor Mark Sanford.

Filing for statewide elected offices begins in mid-March of 2026 with partisan primary races scheduled for June 9, 2026 – less than thirteen months away.

Count on FITSNews to keep close tabs on the various would-be gubernatorial candidates as they jockey for position ahead of those critical dates.

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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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