Updated

Updated · Fox News · Jul 20

Nancy Mace Declines South Carolina Senate Bid as Darline Graham Enters Race for Lindsey Graham's Seat

Updated

Updated · Fox News · Jul 20

Nancy Mace Declines South Carolina Senate Bid as Darline Graham Enters Race for Lindsey Graham's Seat

Q: After a primary loss and a dropped Senate bid, what is the next chapter for Nancy Mace's political career?

Nancy Mace’s immediate next chapter is outside elected office: she says she will return to the private sector when her House term ends early next year and does not plan to run for Congress again. That makes her decision to skip the special Senate race more than a tactical pause. It follows a difficult stretch in which she finished fifth in South Carolina’s Republican gubernatorial primary and then opted against launching a second statewide campaign within months. In her announcement, Mace said the choice was about focusing on current commitments, not avoiding competition. For now, there is no declared campaign on her calendar. She has publicly said a comeback bid for her House seat is “a non-starter,” and her social media message framed her exit as keeping a self-imposed three-term limit. She has indicated she may remain publicly engaged as a private citizen, including backing statewide candidates such as Alan Wilson for governor. Longer term, her future remains open but uncertain. Mace has rebuilt before—returning to state politics after an earlier Senate loss and later winning a U.S. House seat—so some South Carolina observers do not rule out another run if a favorable opening emerges. Her own language after the governor’s race, calling this “the end of a chapter,” has added to that speculation. But based on what she has said now, the next step is a departure from office, not an immediate political comeback.

Q: With a key contender out, who will emerge to challenge the late senator's sister for the vacant seat?

The main challengers now appear to be Rep. Ralph Norman, Rep. Russell Fry, businessman Mark Lynch and lawyer Duke Buckner, with Norman looking like the early standout. With Nancy Mace stepping aside, the field opposing Sen. Darline Graham Nordone in the Aug. 11 special Republican primary becomes clearer. Norman and Fry, both sitting members of Congress, have announced bids, while Lynch is reviving the Senate campaign he ran earlier this year. Buckner has also entered the race. Among them, Norman has the strongest early signal from available polling. An Emerson College Polling/Nexstar Media survey from July 14-15 showed him leading the potential field at 16%, ahead of Lynch at 13% and Fry at 9%. That same poll showed a large undecided bloc, suggesting the race remains fluid. Darline Graham Nordone still begins with major advantages: incumbency through Gov. Henry McMaster’s appointment, the Graham family name, and President Donald Trump’s endorsement. But she is also new to elected politics, and consultants have noted that endorsements alone do not always settle South Carolina primaries. So while no single rival has yet consolidated the anti-Nordone vote, Norman currently looks best positioned to emerge as the principal challenger, with Fry and Lynch also credible contenders as candidate filing opens.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 20

Nancy Mace said she will not run in South Carolina’s special Senate election, ending hours of speculation after signaling earlier Monday that she might join the field.
Darline Graham, appointed to complete Lindsey Graham’s term after his sudden death, confirmed on Fox News that she is running after what she described as heavy pressure and a push from President Donald Trump.
Four Republicans are now publicly in the race ahead of candidate filing: Graham, Reps. Ralph Norman and Russell Fry, and businessman Mark Lynch.
Russell Fry’s bid has become an early flashpoint because South Carolina law lets him appear on the ballot for both Senate and his House seat, potentially forcing another special election if he wins both.
That prospect has intensified Republican infighting, with Mace and Norman warning Fry could weaken the GOP’s razor-thin House majority while state legislative leaders say they may revisit election-law gaps.