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by WILL FOLKS
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South Carolina congresswoman Nancy Mace made it manifestly clear she intends to mount a campaign for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the sudden death of Lindsey Graham late Saturday (July 11, 2026).
“Just when I thought I was out… they pull me back in,” Mace posted to her X account on Sunday morning.
Take a look…
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“Just when I thought I was out… they pull me back in…” pic.twitter.com/1AzRMPAEuc
— Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) July 12, 2026
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For those of you unhip to gangster lore, that line was delivered by Michael Corleone (portrayed by actor Al Pacino) in The Godfather Part III. It references the impossibility of escaping the tentacles of organized crime.
For Mace, invoking the reference seems to signify her belief that Graham’s passing was somehow ordered by fate to compel her reentry into politics following a disappointing fifth-place finish in last month’s Republican gubernatorial primary election. Mace, 48, of Daniel Island, S.C., received 57,380 votes (or 12.13% of all ballots cast) in the June 9, 2026 GOP primary for governor of South Carolina.
That placed her behind all four active candidates – including third-place finisher Ralph Norman, who according to our sources is also eyeing Graham’s seat in the upcoming special election.
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RELATED | RALPH NORMAN WILL RUN
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According to Politico, Mace is “eyeing a bid for Senate to fill the vacancy,” quoting two sources “familiar with her thinking.”
“The outgoing House member plans to begin polling for her exploratory bid this week,” the national outlet reported, noting Mace still had money in her U.S. House account that could be used on a Senate bid.
Mace ran for U.S. Senate against Graham in 2014 – also finishing in fifth place in a competitive GOP primary.
In 2017, Mace won a special election to the S.C. House of Representatives – serving in that chamber until November 2020. After surviving a brutal Republican primary election that spring, Mace defeated incumbent Democrat Joe Cunningham in a bruising general election and was sworn in as the Palmetto State’s first district representative on January 3, 2021.
Almost immediately, Mace drew the ire of U.S president Donald Trump by criticizing his handling of the January 6, 2021 rioting at the U.S. Capitol – which many now contend was an “inside job.” Trump called her “crazy” and endorsed her challenger – but Mace was able to win reelection in 2022 regardless. During her most recent reelection battle, Mace defeated another credible challenger supported by powerful Washington, D.C. interests – although this time she ran with Trump’s support.
As noted in previous coverage, Mace and Norman are likely to be part of a “lengthy list of prospective candidates to fill Graham’s seat – a process which has yet to be laid out definitively by state officials.”
Keep it tuned to FITSNews as we follow that process closely…
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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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1 comment
If the Republicans in their primary showed by their votes that they overwhelmingly did not want her as their governor, why would she think that they would want her as their senator?