S.C. First Congressional District Field Emerging

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With South Carolina first district congresswoman Nancy Mace widely expected to run for governor of the Palmetto State in 2026 – a move which would likely involve her declining to seek reelection to the U.S. congress – would-be candidates have begun eyeing this erstwhile swing seat.

Making no secret of his designs on the district is S.C. state representative Marvin “Mark” Smith, a longtime ally of former S.C. governor Nikki Haley. A centrist “Republican” who runs a network of funeral homes in the Palmetto Lowcountry, Smith has (until recently) been a loyal vote of the GOP establishment in Columbia, S.C.

Lately, however, the 54-year-old Bamberg, S.C. native has been voting more frequently with the fiscally conservative S.C. Freedom Caucus – a clear sign of his bid to woo GOP primary voters. Will it work? Or has Smith cast too many status quo votes during his five years in the House to convince conservatives he’s one of them?

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Also eyeing a potential bid is Alex Pelbath, a retired C-17 special operations pilot who recently retired from the U.S. Air Force after 22 years of service – having attained the rank of colonel. According to his official bio, in August of 2021 Pelbath was the air mission commander for the final evacuation of military and civilian personnel out of Kabul, Afghanistan. 

“Responsible for all aircraft supporting the final mission, he piloted the last aircraft off the ground, ending the United States’ 20-year mission in Afghanistan,” his bio stated.

Pelbath also has extensive budgetary and diplomatic experience, serving as a top advisor to former U.S. joint chiefs of staff chairman Joseph Dunford.

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Pelbath told FITSNews he is “prayerfully considering” a run for congress in 2026.

“After a lifetime of service in uniform, I’m now prayerfully considering how I can continue serving the Lowcountry and our country,” he said. “My (recent) visit to the White House was part of a broader effort to prepare for what’s ahead. I’ve been spending time with my family and meeting with folks across the Lowcountry to understand their priorities. If I step into this race, it’ll be to fight for President Trump’s America First and Peace Through Strength agenda, defend our values, and bring leadership – not politics – to Washington.”

Smith and Pelbath won’t be the only ones to run for this seat in the event it opens up – and Democrats are expected to try and field a candidate capable of making it a swing district once again in 2026.

So stay tuned to FITSNews for updates on what is expected to be a large field…

After 38 years of uninterrupted “Republican” rule, South Carolina’s first district was briefly held by Democrat Joe Cunningham from 2019-2021. Mace ousted him in the 2020 election, however, and decisively defeated a well-funded Democrat challenger in 2022.

According to the latest Partisan Voting Index (PVI) from the Cook Political Report, the district is listed as R+6, slightly more centrist than it was two years ago (R+7).

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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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