Republican Nancy Mace was expected to be sworn into office Sunday, making her South Carolina’s newest member of Congress and the state’s only female representative in Washington.
Mace is also the first Republican woman ever elected to Congress from South Carolina, an accomplishment that further cements her record as a trailblazer. In 1999, Mace shattered glass ceilings when she became the first woman to graduate from The Citadel Corps of Cadets.
Mace, 43, joins a record-breaking number of Republican women elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Mace, a Daniel Island Republican, will be one of 18 freshmen GOP women in the 117th Congress.
The first day of the new Congress also looked different due to precautions put in place to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.
In past years, new members could have their families with them as they took their oath of office. This year, though, new members were allowed to have one guest in the House gallery to watch the first-day proceedings.
Mace’s two children, Elli and Miles, were expected to watch their mom become a congresswoman on a TV set up in Mace’s new D.C. office in the Cannon House Office Building.
A change for the 1st District
Mace, a former state lawmaker, replaces Democratic congressman Joe Cunningham as the representative of South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District. Before Cunningham’s surprise victory in 2018, the seat was previously represented by Mark Sanford, a former South Carolina governor.
The district located along South Carolina’s southeastern coastline has in recent elections showed signs that it is becoming more split between Republicans and Democrats, despite its traditionally Republican voting history. The district includes parts of Charleston, Berkeley, Dorchester, Colleton and Beaufort counties.
In a district where President Donald Trump won by 13 percentage points in 2016, Mace convinced voters that Cunningham was too liberal to represent the Lowcountry in Washington. She had help from national Republicans, who poured millions into the race after singling the seat out as a top pick-up target.
Mace secured her victory over Cunningham by 5,415 votes, edging her Democratic opponent out of office by a 1.27 percentage point margin.
Since his loss, Cunningham has been mum about his next steps even as rumors circulate in South Carolina’s political circles about him being a formidable candidate for governor, should he run.
In an interview with the (Charleston) Post and Courier, Cunningham said he wants to stay in South Carolina and hopes to serve the public. However, it was unclear if that vision includes another political run or a different public-facing role.
Meanwhile, Mace has already filed her reelection paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission.
On Saturday night, Cunningham posted a series of tweets reflecting on his time in Congress. On Sunday morning, he tweeted his congratulations to Mace.
“Her success is the Lowcountry’s success. From the entire Cunningham team, good luck and best wishes,” Cunningham wrote.
Mace replied one minute later.
“Thank you, Congressman! And to your team for your continued dedication to a seamless transition,” Mace said.
COVID: The first priority
In an extensive interview with The State newspaper in the month after her win, Mace had said her first legislative priorities would be securing COVID-19 relief for small businesses and finding federal dollars to help the district’s roads and bridges in an upcoming infrastructure package.
Mace, however, will be in the minority in the House. Despite gains made by Republicans, Democrats still hold a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. That dynamic will put Mace’s pledge to represent her entire district and work across the aisle to the test.
In a statement provided to The State newspaper ahead of her swearing in, Mace said she is excited to “hit the ground running this week.” Mace confirmed that she plans to introduce her first bill this week, but declined to give specifics on what the legislation would be.
House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-Columbia, said in an interview on Sunday morning that combating the coronavirus will be the top priority of Congress in the first 100 days. He added that he thinks Democrats and Republicans can find bipartisan agreement on the issue.
“The first order of business is to work very closely together in order to get beyond this pandemic. That is critical to anything,” Clyburn told C-SPAN.
Committee assignments will reportedly be announced later this month. Mace had said she wants to be put on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, “along with anything to do with our military or our environment.”
Mace’s first political vote
Mace’s first political test, however, could come later this week, when a group of Republicans on Wednesday plan to object to the Electoral College’s certification of President-Elect Joe Biden’s win.
Though Mace had worked as a coalitions director and field director during Trump’s 2016 campaign, Mace has said she will not be joining the last-ditch GOP effort to overturn the presidential election results.
She will be in the minority of South Carolina’s Washington delegation. Four of South Carolina’s congressmen have said that they will object to the Electoral College’s certification. Those GOP congressmen are: U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-Laurens; U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-Springdale; U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-Rock Hill; and U.S. Rep. William Timmons, R-Greenville.
Mace isn’t alone in questioning the push. She joined six Republican House members Sunday in a statement calling for Congress to respect the authority of states to select electors.
“The text of the Constitution is clear. States select electors. Congress does not. Accordingly, our path forward is also clear,” the statement said. “We must respect the states’ authority here. Though doing so may frustrate our immediate political objectives, we have sworn an oath to promote the Constitution above our policy goals.”
One of Trump’s closest allies, South Carolina U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, also cautioned Sunday against efforts to challenge the Electoral College votes.
In a statement, Graham called an effort in the Senate to form a commission to investigate the election’s results an unrealistic “political dodge” that he says has “zero chance of becoming reality.”
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(c) 2021 The State
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