Donald Trump has claimed another political scalp, with Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace finishing a humiliating last place in the South Carolina gubernatorial primary after the President threw his weight behind a rival candidate in what has been widely described as direct payback for Mace’s push to release the Jeffrey Epstein files.
The Associated Press declared around 9pm ET on Tuesday that Trump’s chosen candidate, Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette, and state Attorney General Alan Wilson would advance to a runoff, with Evette leading on approximately 29 per cent of counted ballots and Wilson close behind on around 26 per cent. Mace, the most nationally recognisable name in the race, managed just 11 per cent — a crushing result for a sitting congresswoman who had hoped a high public profile would translate into votes.
Trump endorsed Evette in late May, pointedly noting she was the only candidate among the six Republicans in the field who had backed his 2024 campaign from the outset. The endorsement was widely understood as a targeted strike against Mace, one of the Republican House members who defied Trump by pushing for the full release of files relating to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — a subject the President has been notably hostile toward anyone pursuing.
Mace has been at the centre of a series of controversies in recent months. She accused her ex-fiancé and three of his business associates of sexual and physical abuse — allegations all four have denied, with one filing a defamation lawsuit against her. She has also been involved in high-profile conflicts with colleagues, including moves to have Republican Representative Cory Mills expelled over sexual misconduct allegations and a widely reported altercation with staff at Charleston airport. She has also been among the most aggressive voices in Congress targeting transgender Americans, including her move to bar Democratic Representative Sarah McBride from using women’s bathrooms on Capitol Hill.
Trump’s endorsement record has been formidable throughout his revenge tour. He has successfully ended or derailed the careers of several prominent Republicans who crossed him, including Texas Senator John Cornyn, Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy and Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie. However, Iowa voters last week bucked his influence, choosing Zach Lahn — an insurgent affiliated with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr’s Make America Healthy Again movement — over Trump-backed Randy Feenstra in that state’s gubernatorial race.
On the Democratic side, state House member Jermaine Johnson, a former professional basketball player abroad, was called the winner of the Democratic primary by the Associated Press at 8.45pm ET.
