Representative Nancy Mace kicks off South Carolina GOP gubernatorial bid. She says she's ‘Trump in high heels.'
Mace told The Associated Press on Sunday she plans a multi-pronged platform aimed in part at shoring up the state's criminal justice system, ending South Carolina's income tax, protecting women and children, expanding school choice and vocational education and improving the state's energy options.
Get Starting Point
A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.
Enter Email
Sign Up
Official filing for South Carolina's 2026 elections doesn't open until March, but several other Republicans have already entered the state's first truly open governor's race in 16 years, including Attorney General
Both Wilson and Evette have touted their own connections to the Republican president, but Mace — calling herself 'Trump in high heels' — said she is best positioned to carry out his agenda in South Carolina, where he has remained popular since his 2016 state primary win helped cement his status as the GOP presidential nominee.
Advertisement
Saying she plans to seek his support, Mace pointed to her defense of Trump in an interview that resulted in ABC News agreeing to pay $15 million toward his presidential library to settle a defamation lawsuit. She also noted that she called Trump early this year as part of an effort to persuade GOP holdouts to support Rep. Mike Johnson to become House speaker.
'No one will work harder to get his attention and his endorsement,' she said. 'No one else in this race can say they've been there for the president like I have, as much as I have and worked as hard as I have to get the president his agenda delivered to him in the White House.'
Mace has largely supported Trump, working for his 2016 campaign but levying criticism against him following the Jan. 6, 2021, violence at the US Capitol, which spurred Trump to back a GOP challenger in her 2022 race. Mace defeated that opponent, won reelection and was endorsed by Trump in her 2024 campaign.
A month after she told the AP in January that she was 'seriously considering' a run, Mace went what she called 'scorched earth,' using a nearly hour-long speech on the US House floor in February to accuse her ex-fiancé of physically abusing her, recording sex acts with her and others without their consent, and conspiring with business associates in acts of rape and sexual misconduct.
Mace's ex-fiancé said he 'categorically' denied the accusations, and another man Mace mentioned has sued her for defamation, arguing the accusations were a 'dangerous mix of falsehoods and baseless accusations.'
Advertisement
'I want every South Carolinian to watch me as I fight for my rights as a victim,' Mace said, asked if she worried about litigation related to the speech. 'I want them to know I will fight just as hard for them as I am fighting for myself.'
Mace, 47, was the first woman to graduate from The Citadel, the state's military college, where her father then served as commandant of cadets. After briefly serving in the state House, in 2020 she became the first Republican woman elected to represent South Carolina in Congress, flipping the 1st District after one term with a Democratic representative.
'I'm going to draw the line, and I'm going to hold it for South Carolina, and I'm going to put her people first,' Mace said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
26 minutes ago
- The Hill
Live updates: Texas GOP issues arrest warrants in redistricting showdown with Democrats
Texas Democrats who have taken refuge in blue states to protest GOP-led redistricting in the Lone Star State face civil arrest warrants after missing a legislative session on Monday. Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R) signed the warrants, which allow for the Democrats' arrests, as Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday called their protest 'crazy bluster' and said the state would push ahead with redrawing maps. 'Democrats are freaking out because they are realizing Texas has the authority to redistrict, and we're going to do so in a way that's going to lead to these additional seats that will vote Republican, and they will be serving in Congress in the next session,' Abbott told Fox News's Sean Hannity on Monday night. Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin told CNN on Monday night that Republicans are getting what they asked for: 'Donald Trump, Greg Abbott, Ken Paxton, they said they wanted a showdown. And guess what? That's exactly what they're getting. A showdown.' The Texas House needs two-thirds of its members present to vote; Democrats' absence has deprived the chamber of that quorum. It will convene its second legislative day, likely without Democrats, on Tuesday. In Washington, President Trump is set to join CNBC for an interview Tuesday morning and sign an executive order on later in the afternoon. Just days ahead of his new tariff scheme taking effect and in the wake of a weak jobs report, he faces concern from Republicans on Capitol Hill. Catch up here:
Newsweek
27 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Map Shows States Where Homeowners Benefit Most from Capital Gains Tax Plan
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Blue states, including California and Washington, are among those that stand to benefit the most from President Donald Trump's idea to eliminate the federal capital gains tax on home sales, according to a new study. A proposal to abolish the tax was first pushed forward by Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene last month and then echoed by Trump, who told reporters on July 22 that he was "thinking about…no tax on capital gains on houses." While it is not yet clear if the president's suggestion may lead to a real change in the way home sales are taxed by the government, real estate brokerage Redfin has calculated that homeowners in California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Washington, and New Jersey, in this order, would benefit the most from the abolition of the capital gains tax. What Is the Federal Capital Gains Tax on Home Sales—and Why Does Trump Want To Abolish It? Homeowners who sell a property where they have been living for longer than a year may have to pay capital gains taxes if they sell their property for more than they originally purchased it for. Capital gains taxes are a portion of the profit made by homeowners through the years that their property has appreciated in value. At the moment, capital gains taxes are limited by a cap. Homeowners who have lived in a home as their primary residence for at least 24 months in the five years before the sale receive an exemption on the first $250,000 of gains for individuals and $500,000 for married couples filing jointly. This cap, however, has not been updated since it was introduced in 1997 nor adjusted for inflation—leading many experts to support urgent changes to the exclusion. "It is not indexed for inflation. In real terms, the exclusion has gone down over these last 20-something years," William McBride, Chief Economist & Stephen J. Entin Fellow in Economics at the Tax Foundation, told Newsweek. "The high inflation we had in recent years, during the pandemic and consequently, is one of the things that has caused a lot of home price appreciation." While this is a problem that typically affects wealthier homeowners the most, the rapid appreciation that occurred during the pandemic homebuying frenzy means that "this is no longer just a concern for high-end properties," Shannon McGahn, executive vice president and chief advocacy officer at the National Association of Realtors (NAR), told Newsweek. According to a recent report by NAR, nearly 29 million homeowners, about one-third of the U.S. market, already face potential capital gains taxes if they sell, "and that number is expected to climb sharply over the next decade," McGahn said. If no change is made to the way capital gains are taxed, nearly 70 percent of homeowners could exceed the $250,000 cap, according to NAR. "A sizable portion of homeowners, especially in states with high home prices that have grown quickly, are sitting on more than the $250k/$500k of capital gains that are exempt from capital gains taxes," Chen Zhao, head of economics research at Redfin, previously told Newsweek. "These homeowners generally have owned their homes for a long period of time, but in some places, people are exceeding the current capital gains exemptions solely based on appreciation during the pandemic." Trump has hinted at the idea of abolishing the capital gains tax on home sales as a solution to the ongoing affordability crisis in the U.S. housing market. On July 22, he told reporters that "if the Fed would lower the rates, we wouldn't even have to do that." Greene has framed the tax as an "unfair burden" hurting the "American dream." Which States Will Benefit the Most—and the Least According to Redfin, more than a quarter of homes across the U.S. have gained at least $250,000 in value since the last time they were purchased, with 8 percent having gained more than $500,000. The owners of these homes are the ones that stand to benefit by a potential elimination of the capital gains tax. By the same reasoning, the states where homeowners stand to gain from the abolition of the tax are those where homes have appreciated the most in recent decades. These include some of the most expensive housing markets in the country: California and Hawaii. In the Golden State, the median home value is $766,896 and the typical capital gain of all homes is $332,659, according to Redfin. A total of 62.3 percent of homes in the state have gained at least $250,000 since they were last sold—the highest share of any state in the nation. One in three (33 percent) have gained more than $500,000. Hawaii followed with 61 percent of homes having gained more than $250,000 in value since they were last sold, while 34.6 percent gained over $500,000. The overall capital gain was even higher than that of California, however, at $338,346. The top five states that would benefit most from the abolition of the federal capital gains tax also include Massachusetts, Washington and New Jersey, with respectively 58.4 percent, 54.1 percent, and 52.2 percent of homes that have gained at least $250,000 in value since they were last sold. Do you think abolishing the federal capital gains tax on home sales is a good or bad idea? Let me know your opinion by emailing The states where homeowners would benefit the least from the change, on the other hand, are Mississippi, North Dakota, Iowa, Oklahoma and Wyoming, which have seen the smallest share of homes that have appreciated over $250,000 in the country, respectively at 1.2 percent, 2.2 percent, 2.4 percent, 3.1 percent and 3.4 percent. What Would Be the Impact of Eliminating the Capital Gains Tax? According to experts, eliminating the federal capital gains tax could have a positive impact on the U.S. housing market, unlocking homes that homeowners were previously holding on to to avoid a high fiscal burden. "Ending the capital gains tax could potentially spur some sales by removing a barrier to selling. Home sales have been in a slump for the past couple years, and this might nudge some sellers to consider," Bankrate's Jeff Ostrowski told Newsweek. "However, the tax burden is far from the main cause of the housing market slowdown." Some experts fear that such a move could have unwanted consequences. "Ongoing affordability issues could be exacerbated by abolishing this tax as it could fuel demand and lead to a more competitive housing market, especially where supply is constrained," Hannah Jones, senior economist at told Newsweek. "Removing this tax would favor wealthy owners which could worsen equity inequality and make the market even more challenging for low-to-mid-earning buyers." McBride also said the measure does not address another cause of home price appreciation in recent years: the lack of supply. "There's a shortage of supply and that's the fundamental problem that needs to be addressed directly. This proposal does not address that," he said. "We have a penalty on investment in housing, on the supply of housing, due to its tax treatment through our depreciation system. That should be addressed, that's the way to directly address this."
NBC News
28 minutes ago
- NBC News
Russia's Medvedev warns enemies of 'new reality' as Kremlin ditches nuclear treaty
Former Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev has warned that the country's rivals now faced a 'new reality' as the Kremlin formally announced it was no longer bound by a treaty limiting the use of short and medium-range nuclear missiles. Medvedev, who today serves as the deputy chairman of the country's Security Council and is known for issuing frequent apocalyptic threats on social media, was continuing a war of words that prompted President Donald Trump to redeploy two nuclear submarines last week. His latest warning came after the Russian Foreign Ministry announced it would no longer abide by the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty, or INF, an agreement banning Washington and Moscow from deploying ground-based missiles with ranges between 500 to 5,500 kilometers (311 to 3,418 miles). It also comes days before the expiration of Trump's deadline ultimatum for Russia to agree to a ceasefire or face additional tariffs. The INF was already obsolete, with the United States accusing Russia of violating the pact for decades and i tself withdrawing from the agreement in 2019, and Russia has made little secret of its use of these missiles during its war with Ukraine. On Monday the Russian Foreign Ministry said it was formally abandoning any 'efforts to maintain restraint in this area' because the U.S. was moving to deploy similarly ranged weapons systems to Europe and Asia. Russia 'no longer considers itself bound by the corresponding previously adopted self-restrictions,' it said. Medvedev said the withdrawal from the INF was 'the result of NATO countries' anti-Russian policy' — a reference to Moscow's longstanding claim that the Western military alliance is aggressively encircling Russia. 'This is a new reality all our opponents will have to reckon with. Expect further steps.' NBC News has contacted NATO for comment on his remarks. Last week the former Russian leader became involved in a social media spat with Trump. While in Scotland, Trump reduced his initial 50-day deadline for Russia to cease fighting, instead giving it 10-12 days. Medvedev responded by saying that 'each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war' between Russia and the U.S. On Friday Trump reacted by ordering two nuclear submarines to be deployed to 'appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that.' This social media back-and-forth is playing out as Russia makes slow, grinding gains on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine. From the skies, Ukrainian civilians endured another hellish night of Russian drone and missile attacks, as well as shelling on the Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Sumy, Kherson and Donetsk regions. Over the past 24 hours at least 15 civilians were killed, officials said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Trump for putting pressure on the Kremlin. 'Russia is dragging out the war against Ukraine for one reason only — it has the money to keep the war going,' he said in his nightly address Monday. 'All sanctions that restrict Russia help bring peace. All weapons that strengthen Ukraine help bring peace. All political actions that isolate Russia help bring peace.' Vocing an opinion common among Western experts on Russia, Mark Galeotti, warned against reading too much into comments by Medvedev. 'Medvedev is a professional troll these days. Trying to dig too much meaning into his various iterations is a fool's errand,' said Galeotti, the British-based director of the consultancy Mayak Intelligence. 'Indeed, sometimes I wonder if his statements are precisely intended to tie us into knots as we try to interpret them!'
