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by WILL FOLKS
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U.S. congresswoman Nancy Mace filed paperwork to run for governor at the S.C. State Election Commission (SCVotes.gov) on Monday afternoon (March 23, 2026) – formally ending speculation that she might change her mind at the last minute and campaign for the U.S. Senate against Lindsey Graham.
Mace submitted her filing documents on the down-low, declining to alert the media as to her arrival at SCVotes’ headquarters in downtown Columbia, S.C.
Shortly after 4:00 p.m. EDT, though, Mace signed her name on the requisite forms (.pdf) – becoming the fourth Republican candidate to formally file for the office being vacated next January by status quo incumbent Henry McMaster.
“South Carolina didn’t just shape me, it made me,” Mace posted on X. “And now it’s time to give it everything I got. My family has been here for hundreds of years. I grew up here. I raised my children here. And serving South Carolina has been the honor of my life. I’m working hard to earn every single vote, and I won’t stop until you tell me to.”
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Today I officially filed to run for Governor of South Carolina.
— Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) March 23, 2026
South Carolina didn’t just shape me, it made me. And now it’s time to give it everything I got.
My family has been here for hundreds of years. I grew up here. I raised my children here. And serving South Carolina… pic.twitter.com/kYQ18ek4n0
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Four-term attorney general Alan Wilson, fifth district congressman Ralph Norman and Lowcountry businessman Rom Reddy all filed for office last week. Lieutenant governor Pamela Evette and state senator Josh Kimbrell – both of whom have announced their candidacies for the GOP nomination – have yet to submit their paperwork.
As we often point out, the Republican primary is the race to watch in South Carolina – which hasn’t elected a Democrat at the statewide level since 2006 and hasn’t elected one governor since 1998.
The last independent poll released in the race – published earlier this month by Quantus Insights – showed Mace and Wilson tied for the lead at 22%, Evette in third place at 16% and Norman in fourth place at 11%. In that survey, 26% of respondents were undecided. When “leaners” – or respondents who indicated they were leaning toward supporting a certain candidate – were removed, Mace narrowly led the field with 19% support, followed by Wilson at 18%, Evette at 13% and Norman at 9%. Absent “leaners,” the undecideds in the contest surged to 39%.
On the Democrat side, state representative Jermaine Johnson and wealthy trial lawyer Mullins McLeod have submitted their paperwork, while Upstate businessman Billy Webster is reportedly eying a bid.
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Early polling has shown Johnson with a lead over McLeod, whose candidacy has been marred by scandal.
Several minor party candidates have also filed, included Gary Votour (Workers’ Party), Walid Hakim (Green Party) and Michael Addison (United Citizens’ Party).
South Carolina’s filing period formally closes at 12:00 p.m. EDT next Monday (March 30, 2026). Partisan primary elections are scheduled for June 9, 2026, with partisan runoffs set for two weeks later (June 23, 2026), if necessary. In Palmetto primary races, if a candidate fails to receive a majority of votes on the first ballot, the top two vote-getters square off in a head-to-head runoff two weeks later to determine who wins their party’s nomination.
The general election is set for Tuesday, November 3, 2026.
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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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3 comments
God help us all!
Amen!
Why not? She’s just as terrible as any of the other more recent governors. Why expect any modicum of decency?