There’s a heated Republican proxy battle in the state of South Carolina today as two Republicans, Representatives Nancy Mace and Tom Rice, fight for their political lives in the primary today. Both of them rebuked former President Donald Trump following the January 6th capitol riots, leaving them alienated from much of the Republican party base in Washington and at odds with the former President.
In her first floor speech on the House, Representative Mace said the House needed to “hold the President accountable” for the riot on the Capitol, however voted against impeaching the former President. Representative Rice made a politically risky move as he voted to impeach Trump in his second impeachment for the riots, even though President Trump carried his district with nearly 60% support in 2020.
In response, President Trump backed primary challengers for each. State Representative Russell Fry will go against Rice and Katie Arrington will go against Mace today.
Rice has acknowledged that his vote against President Trump could result in him being voted out by Republicans his district, but he said he was following his conscience. Other than Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) and former Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ) Rice has failed to receive any major endorsements for his reelection bid from Republicans in his party, unlike his primary challenger who has received broad support from South Carolina Republican party officials.
Representative Mace’s bid has also been close Rice, as Mace tries to reconcile with the Trump base of her party, citing how she was one of Trump’s “earliest supporters” and touted the fact that she worked for his 2016 campaign, and received his support for her run in 2020.
Mace has been endorsed by prominent South Carolina Republicans like Trump’s former chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and former South Carolina Governor and Trump’s first United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley. The race has left Haley and Trump on opposing sides who were already at odds after Haley criticized the former President in a Politico interview shortly after the capitol riots. Haley, a top contender for the 2024 Republican nomination, has tried to reconcile with the former President herself after she vowed not to run for President if her former boss did.
The Trump endorsement has been a powerful weapon utilized in Republican primaries to shake up Republican primaries, however in recent weeks, it has fallen short of victory in key Republican primaries including in Georgia and North Carolina where the Trump backed candidates like David Perdue (R-GA) and Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) lost to their opponents. If Rice and Mace win, Rice is expected to win his race handedly in the General election, while Mace would have another hurdle to cross due to her district’s close party make up.
The Ishaan S. Show will be following the races in South Carolina and others live on twitter. Follow the Ishaan S. Show on twitter and instagram for updates about today’s races. For Inquiries email contact@ishaanmedia.com.