Part of: The 2026 South Carolina Senate Special Election · January 6 & the Trump Relationship
Trump Team Reportedly Irate Over Nancy Mace Floating Her Name as a Graham Replacement: 'All We Want is a Republican Who is Sane'
Mediaite reports that the Trump White House fumed as Nancy Mace touted herself as a candidate for Lindsey Graham's Senate seat hours after his death, posting the Godfather Part III 'they pull me back in' line the morning the news broke. One Trump official told Axios her move was 'in poor taste, even for Mace'; another said they would 'drop $2 million on her head' in a runoff. Trump instead recommended Graham's sister, Darline Graham Nordone, as interim senator, with Sen. Tim Scott backing the pick.
Tom Durante ·
Reported by Tom Durante at Mediaite, working from Axios's Monday reporting on the Graham succession.
The sequence, per Mediaite: Graham, 71, died Saturday night of what his office later said was "aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease." As the news spread Sunday morning, Mace posted Al Pacino's Godfather Part III line, "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in." By Monday, Trump officials were venting to Axios.
"putting herself out as a candidate while everyone was absorbing the news of Lindsey's death was in poor taste, even for Mace."
Top Trump official to Axios, as quoted by Mediaite, July 13, 2026. The same official noted Trump, a close friend of Graham, "was already not a fan" of Mace.
"If Mace ends up in a runoff, we'll drop $2 million on her head to keep her out. All we want is a Republican who is sane and can work with the White House."
Trump administration official to Axios, as quoted by Mediaite, July 13, 2026
Mediaite adds CNN data analyst Harry Enten's read on her chances:
"Despite being well known nationally, at this point anyway, the people who are putting their money where their mouths are don't give Nancy Mace much of a chance to win that nomination."
Harry Enten, CNN, July 13, 2026, as quoted by Mediaite
Trump, meanwhile, publicly settled on his pick for the interim seat: Graham's sister.
"I recommended, to Governor Henry McMaster, Lindsey Graham's wonderful sister, Darline, to serve as interim Senator from the Great State of South Carolina. This would be a fabulous tribute to Lindsey, who loved her dearly!"
Donald Trump, Truth Social, as quoted by Mediaite
Sen. Tim Scott followed with his own endorsement of Darline Graham Nordone, writing that she "would be a fantastic pick to serve out the remainder of the senate term" and that "there is no one better who understands Lindsey's love for family, our state, and our country."
Mediaite closes on the June context: Mace was blown out in the South Carolina governor primary after Trump backed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, finishing fifth.
On Maceopedia
- Trump allies say they can "block Rep. Nancy Mace" from Graham seat appointment
- Hours after Graham's death, Mace is already talking about his seat
- Mace's Graham-seat media tour: how her answer shifted across one Sunday
Sources & related coverage
- Mediaite: Trump Team Reportedly Irate Over Nancy Mace Floating Her Name as a Graham Replacement: 'All We Want is a Republican Who is Sane'
- AlterNet's version of the same Axios reporting: We want someone 'sane'
- Jezebel's commentary: So Apparently Nancy Mace's Fifth Stage of Grief Is Running for Senate
- The on-the-record version of the pushback: The Hill on Rep. Mike Lawler's "grotesque" reply
Read it: Mediaite ->
Read next
July 13, 2026 · DispatchWe want someone 'sane': Trump insiders fume as Nancy Mace floats run for Senate seat
AlterNet reports that after Sen. Lindsey Graham's death, the Trump White House moved to keep Nancy Mace away from his Senate seat, with one Trump official telling Axios they would 'drop $2 million on her head' if she reached a runoff because 'all we want is a Republican who is sane.' Trump recommended Graham's sister, Darline Graham Nordone, for the interim appointment, while Mace told Axios she was being unfairly singled out since two men had announced within hours of Graham's passing and she had not.
July 13, 2026 · DispatchSo Apparently Nancy Mace's Fifth Stage of Grief Is Running for Senate
Jezebel writes that Nancy Mace began floating herself for Lindsey Graham's Senate seat within hours of his death, posting the Godfather Part III 'they pull me back in' line around 9:43 a.m. Sunday and telling Fox News she would 'never going to shut the door.' A source confirmed to Jezebel that Mace is considering the run and plans to poll an exploratory bid this week, potentially using leftover federal campaign cash, one month after her fifth-place governor-primary finish and twelve years after her first run at Graham's seat also ended in fifth place.
July 13, 2026 · Dispatch"It may have ended my political career": Nancy Mace to Chris Cuomo
On NewsNation's CUOMO, two days after Lindsey Graham's death opened a U.S. Senate seat, Nancy Mace said Trump's opposition following her Epstein-files break "may have ended my political career," conceded "I got my butt beat in the governor's race," and, in an answer nominally about ICE, argued that endorsements "do matter, especially in South Carolina." Chris Cuomo urged her on air to run in the special election.
August 23, 2026 · DispatchNancy Mace's Top 5 Political Failures: dead last for governor, the Speaker she toppled for nothing, and one law in nine years, a post office
A catalog of the record. Across nine years in office Nancy Mace built a national brand and almost no results to match it. She finished dead last, fifth of five, in the 2026 Republican primary for governor. She helped throw out a sitting Speaker of the House and got a more MAGA Speaker, three weeks of paralysis, and a revenge primary for her trouble. She lost to Lindsey Graham the one time she ran against him, in 2014, then talked herself out of his seat in 2026 after polling at 10 percent. Of the 192 bills she has sponsored, the only ones enacted rename post offices. And the Trump endorsement she remade her whole career to win went, twice, to her opponents. Every figure and quote below is public and dated.
July 20, 2026 · Dispatch"I'm not chasing another title, I'm chasing justice": Nancy Mace rules out the Senate race, and with it, public office
On July 20, 2026, Rep. Nancy Mace announced in a 64-second video on X that she will not enter the special election for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham's Senate seat. 'I want to be straight with you. I'm not running for the US Senate, not because I'm backing down from a fight, but because the one I'm already in matters right now.' The announcement came three days after President Trump endorsed Graham's sister, interim Sen. Darline Graham Nordone, for the full term. Combined with her June 10 decision not to seek re-election to the House, Mace is now set to leave public office when her term ends in January 2027. This dispatch reproduces the video statement in full, verbatim, alongside the separate written statement she posted with it.
July 14, 2026 · DispatchSeth Meyers: 'I just think we need to ban politicians from posting memes'
Seth Meyers used his July 14, 2026 'A Closer Look' segment to skewer Rep. Nancy Mace's Godfather III meme, posted the day after Lindsey Graham's death to hint at a Senate run, alongside Trump's Mount Rushmore, Star Wars, and Pope memes, landing on: 'I just think we need to ban politicians from posting memes.'