By Ali Vitali, Bridget Bowman and Kyle Stewart DANIEL ISLAND, S.C. — Rep.
Nancy Mace is no stranger to an intraparty battle. Now, her role in a big Republican fight last year — the ouster of Kevin McCarthy as House speaker — is complicating her primary Tuesday. Mace, who is both a candidate seeking her third term and her own campaign manager, has earned the ire of the highest ranks of Republicans in the few short years she has been in Washington.
In 2022, it was former President Donald Trump — though . Then, a year later, she voted in historic fashion to boot a House speaker from her own party. In fact, McCarthy, R-Calif.
, is the first thing Mace points to when she is asked about the stakes of her latest political fight against a primary challenger running with McCarthy’s support. “It’s about revenge,” Mace said in an interview at her campaign headquarters. “It’s also about honesty and integrity.
And my vote to oust Kevin McCarthy was about trust.” Mace says she doesn’t regret the vote. McCarthy his support of GOP candidates challenging several of “the crazy eight,” as he calls the Republicans who voted against him, has nothing to do with political vendetta.
he’s limited in what he can do directly, outside of giving money and advice. His spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for an interview. But operatives aligned with McCarthy are directing big money into those races through outside groups.
Tuesday’s challenge to Mace is the first test, .
