Part of: January 6 & the Trump Relationship · 2026 Governor Campaign
'Buried the hatchet': after finishing fifth, Mace concedes the governor's race and endorses Alan Wilson, the rival she spent months branding a 'p*dophile protector'
On the night of June 9, 2026, after finishing fifth in the South Carolina Republican gubernatorial primary with about 11.4% of the vote, Nancy Mace conceded and endorsed the man who advanced to the June 23 runoff, Attorney General Alan Wilson. 'I want a law-and-order governor, and that law-and-order governor is going to be Alan Wilson,' she told supporters, saying that 'in the last couple of weeks, Alan Wilson and I have buried the hatchet.' The endorsement reversed a year of attacks: as recently as November 3, 2025 she had called Wilson a 'p*dophile protector' on X. Wilson has rejected those attacks, his office said Mace 'drastically mischaracterized' prosecution data, and nothing in the exchange is a finding about either man's conduct.
On the night of June 9, 2026, Nancy Mace finished fifth, last among the major candidates, with about 11.4%, in the South Carolina Republican gubernatorial primary, failing to advance to the June 23 runoff between Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, who carried President Trump's endorsement, and Attorney General Alan Wilson. Conceding shortly before 9 p.m., Mace did something that would have been unthinkable a few months earlier: she endorsed Wilson.
Reporting credit: Mace's concession and endorsement were reported by The Hill (Filip Timotija), the Washington Examiner, Fox Carolina, Live 5 News and Newsmax, and the speech was carried by C-SPAN. The quotes below are as those outlets reported them and as recorded on the C-SPAN video.
Mace's concession and endorsement of Alan Wilson, June 9, 2026, C-SPAN.
What she said Tuesday night
Mace told supporters she would back the attorney general, framing him as the candidate on public safety:
"Tonight, I want you to know that I'm going to endorse Alan Wilson for governor.", Nancy Mace, June 9, 2026
"I want a law-and-order governor, and that law-and-order governor is going to be Alan Wilson.", Nancy Mace, June 9, 2026
She acknowledged the about-face directly, telling the room the feud was over:
"What many of you do not know is that in the last couple of weeks, Alan Wilson and I have buried the hatchet.", Nancy Mace, June 9, 2026
Mace also said she had accepted an offer to work with a Wilson administration, as a private citizen, per Newsmax, helping his team "ensure predators and violent offenders are held accountable." And she returned to the issue she has blamed for her defeat:
"I voted to release the Epstein files and lost some support for that. As a survivor, I chose to stand on principle and stand against the Epstein cover-up. … And apparently, I chose wrong if the goal was winning an election. I'm at peace with that.", Nancy Mace, June 9, 2026
What she said before
For most of the campaign, Wilson was Mace's chief rival and the target of some of her sharpest attacks. On November 3, 2025, she posted on X (@NancyMace):
LIVE LOOK at p*dophile protector Alan Wilson and his dad, Cong. Joe Wilson, plotting to take me out. Alan had to call his daddy AGAIN today and BEGGED him to go after me. How many times are you going to call your daddy Alan?
Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) November 3, 2025
That post, catalogued in the "call your daddy" dispatch, was part of a year in which Mace repeatedly attacked Wilson's record on child sex-crime prosecutions, language she escalated into the "pedophile paradise" framing. On June 9, the candidate she had branded a "p*dophile protector" became, in her own words, the "law-and-order governor" South Carolina needed.
Wilson has rejected those attacks throughout. His office said Mace had "drastically mischaracterized" the prosecution data she cited, and Wilson accused her of "ranting and raving." The "p*dophile protector" label was Mace's characterization of a political opponent, which Wilson disputes; nothing in the exchange is a finding about either man's conduct, and the reconciliation is described here only as the two principals have framed it publicly.
Sources & related coverage:
- The Hill, Filip Timotija, "Nancy Mace endorses Alan Wilson after losing South Carolina gubernatorial bid"
- Washington Examiner, "Mace endorses old foe Alan Wilson for South Carolina governor: 'Buried the hatchet'"
- Fox Carolina, "Nancy Mace concedes SC governor race, endorses AG Alan Wilson"
- Live 5 News (WCSC), "VIDEO: Nancy Mace concedes, backs Alan Wilson for governor"
- Newsmax, "Mace Backs Wilson After South Carolina Primary Loss"
- C-SPAN (via YouTube), "Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) Endorses Alan Wilson"
- X, Nancy Mace, "LIVE LOOK at p*dophile protector Alan Wilson…" (the November 3, 2025 post)
- See also: Alan Wilson · 2026 Governor Campaign · the "rough downfall" post-mortem · the "call your daddy" dispatch
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