Nancy Mace Backs ‘Clean’ Closed Primary Bill

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by WILL FOLKS

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South Carolina congresswoman Nancy Mace is the second 2026 gubernatorial contender to endorse a “clean” closed primary bill, according to a statement issued by her campaign.

Mace is backing H. 3310 – a bill previously supported by U.S. congressman Ralph Norman. This legislation would require voters to register by party – and vote only in the primary of the party to which they are registered.

“It’s pretty simple: Republicans should choose Republican nominees, and Democrats should choose Democrat nominees,” Mace said in a statement. “Our current system is an open invitation for mischief. Closed primaries protect the integrity of both parties and ensure that nominees actually represent the voters they claim to serve.”

“Forty-seven states have some form of party registration,” Mace added. “It’s time South Carolina joined them.”

Mace and Norman are embracing a view widely held by conservative activists within the SCGOP – the party which dominates electoral politics in the ostensibly bright red Palmetto State.

Primary elections – held in June in even-numbered years – draw far fewer voters than the general election races held in November. That’s unfortunate, too, because the primary races are the ones that count in South Carolina. Given how Palmetto political boundaries have been drawn to protect incumbents, primary elections are usually the only political races in the Palmetto State which are even remotely competitive.

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Conservatives maintain Democrat meddling in Republican primaries has resulted in the election of GOP office-holders insufficiently loyal to the party’s stated principles of lower taxes, less government and more individual liberty.

Are they right?

Well, there’s certainly plenty of evidence to support that assertion…

“Your state is run by party-switchers and trial lawyers,” a source in a neighboring state told us recently.

That’s for damn sure…

Anyway, closing primaries has become a source of considerable consternation because GOP leaders at the S.C. State House have embraced legislation that goes much further than activists intended. At the behest of party leaders, these lawmakers are backing H. 3643 – a bill which would close primaries while simultaneously rendering candidates ineligible to seek a partisan nomination unless they “voted in two of the last three statewide primaries of a certified political party.”

This caveat is aimed squarely at S.C. first circuit solicitor David Pascoe, one of the early frontrunners in the race for attorney general. However, it would also result in the removal from the ballot of retired U.S. Air Force colonel Alex Pelbath, one of the top contenders in the race for the Palmetto State’s first congressional district.

Mace did not specifically address the candidate removal component of the bill favored by party leadership, although she did indicate those supporting it were playing “games.”

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RELATED | PARTISAN PRIMARY CHARADE

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“Enough games,” she said. “Pass the bill. Let Republicans pick Republicans and Democrats pick Democrats. The people of South Carolina deserve nominees who actually represent them.”

Mace clarified that H. 3310 did not restrict a citizen’s eligibility to vote – nor the ability of parties to keep their primaries open to unaffiliated voters should they choose to do so.

“Every South Carolinian can still register with any party they want, or no party at all,” she said. “This is about letting political parties choose their own nominees without interference from people who don’t share their values.”

We reached out to the other two top-tier contenders in the 2026 governor’s race – four-term attorney general Alan Wilson and lieutenant governor Pamela Evette – to get their views on the matter.

“Right now, both bills need some work,” Wilson’s deputy campaign manager Claire Brady told us. “The current candidates should absolutely be allowed to continue running and not be removed from the ballot, but there should be mechanisms to prevent Jim Clyburn from running as a Republican if he decides that would benefit him electorally, while also protecting genuine party switches.”

Evette’s campaign manager Megan Finnern said the lieutenant governor “supports closing the primaries, ensuring only Republican voters choose their candidates and that every Republican voter is able to vote in the 2026 primary and future primaries.”

Partisan primary elections in South Carolina are scheduled for June 9, 2026. In the event no candidate wins a majority of votes on the first ballot, a runoff election would be held two weeks later (on June 23, 2026). The GOP primary is the race to watch in South Carolina, as Democrats haven’t won a gubernatorial election since 1998 – and haven’t won a statewide election since 2006. That means the GOP nominee in this race is all but assured of prevailing in the general election next November.

Both closed primary bills would apply to the June 2026 elections if signed by the governor during the current legislative session.

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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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