We’ve been following races across the country that are bellwether contests. This is one in the South Carolina 1st Congressional District. It pits Republican challenger Nancy Mace, a dynamic businesswoman, against Joe Cunningham, an out of touch Democrat incumbent. Mace has the upper hand going into Tuesday.
She has picked up steam in the last part of the campaign season, easily beating Cunningham in a debate. And Mace for Congress recently announced having more than $1.7 million cash on hand going into the final three weeks on the campaign. That is $500,000 more dollars than reported by Democrat Joe Cunningham at the third quarter filing deadline. In fact, Mace set a record in her outraising of Cunningham. She has outraised her Democrat opponent by the largest margin of any GOP congressional challenger in the nation. In the entire nation. That is how on fire her campaign has been.
Mace commented, “Team Mace is fired up and delivering BIG for the Lowcountry in the final stretch of this campaign. I hear it every day on the campaign trail. The Lowcountry is ready to take back the first district and put a true fiscal conservative leader in the House.”
I’ve had a chance to talk to Mace more than once. She is articulate, conservative, and impressive. Her opponent strangely attacked her for being a working mom. It didn’t stick. But then Joe Cunningham is used to that. He says one thing in the district, but votes another way in DC. His words don’t stick because his actions undercut them. Hence his probable loss to Mace.
The Republican challenger knows hers is one of the most hotly contested House seats in America. But she’s fighting hard and smart. Mace understands that the nation is at a serious crossroads in its history. As such, she is a strong supporter of the president and worked for him in numerous states during the 2016 campaign.
Mace grew up in Goose Creek, S.C. and graduated from Stratford High School, but not before working after school at a Waffle House. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from The Citadel, where she was the first female to graduate from the Corps of Cadets in 1999. She later earned a Masters degree in Mass Communication from The University of Georgia. She wrote “In The Company of Men: A Woman at The Citadel” (Simon & Schuster, 2001). Her business experience stems from corporate technology consulting, to starting her own company, as well as commercial real estate experience. She’s the mom of two children aged 11 and 13.
Those are a lot of the reasons she’ll make a fine member of Congress. But it’s more than this. I’ve talked to her and I can tell you one thing is certain about Nancy Mace: She can lead. And that is the kind of person the South Carolina 1st Congressional District needs in the House.