Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), who has teased a run for governor in South Carolina, is leading a hypothetical 2026 GOP gubernatorial field in new polling.
The survey from the nonpartisan research organization South Carolina Policy Council found Mace with 16 percent support from Republican-identifying voters — 1 point ahead of state Attorney General Alan Wilson (R), who launched his campaign last month. Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette (R) earned 8 percent support, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) snagged 6 percent and state Sen. Josh Kimbrell earned 3 percent.
At the same time, a little more than half of respondents — 52 percent — were still undecided.
“I will be making a decision over the next couple of days about my future,” Mace told Fox News over the weekend. “I believe I may be forced to run for governor because I can’t watch my beautiful red state of South Carolina go woke. It’s gone woke over the last couple of years.”
On Monday, she posted a graphic promising a "special announcement" and "big things ahead."
Mace would enter a crowded GOP primary to succeed term-limited Gov. Henry McMaster (R) in the Palmetto State, but she framed the election as a potential faceoff against Wilson.
“This is a two-man race, if I get in, between me and Alan Wilson, the South Carolina attorney general, who likes to put pedophiles on trial and give them one day in jail,” the congresswoman said.
Mace flipped South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District to GOP control in 2020, and she won reelection by double digits last year. A staunch supporter of President Trump, Mace backed him in the 2024 GOP presidential primary over her fellow South Carolinian, former Gov. Nikki Haley (R), who has notably endorsed Norman in the gubernatorial race.
On the Democratic side, 83 percent in the new South Carolina Policy Council poll were undecided, with potential contenders scoring just 5 percent support or less. Democratic state Rep. Jermaine Johnson launched an exploratory committee for the 2026 race last month.
Cook Political Report rates the open race as solid Republican, and whoever wins the Republican primary next year is seen as the heavy favorite to win the November election.
The poll of 1,200 registered voters statewide, conducted by Targoz Market Research from July 21 to 25, has a margin of error of 2.77 percentage points. Norman had not yet launched when the poll was being conducted.
Source: The Hill - News
