Part of: Epstein files floor speech and Oversight briefing (Sept. Nov. 2025) · The Epstein Files Fight · Epstein & the Files Vote · January 6 & the Trump Relationship
Trump Endorses Pam Evette Over Nancy Mace for South Carolina Governor
The Hill reported on May 29, 2026 that Trump endorsed Mace's primary rival, Lt. Gov. Pam Evette, for the South Carolina governorship, a snub Mace publicly attributed to her vote to release the Epstein files. The endorsement was widely covered as the direct consequence of the months-long standoff between Mace and the Trump administration over the file release.
The Hill's reporting on Trump's Evette endorsement captures the political cost Mace bore for her Epstein advocacy, the day she posted "I voted to release the Epstein files. NO REGRETS" on X.
Source: The Hill
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- June 10, 2026 · Dispatch
Latest Republican Out of a Job After Forcing Epstein Release
CNN characterized Mace's fifth-place finish in the June 9, 2026 South Carolina GOP gubernatorial primary as the latest example of a Republican losing their seat after forcing the Epstein files release, a framing that placed her alongside Reps. Massie, Boebert, and Greene as petition signers who paid an electoral price. The analysis is CNN's own characterization of the political outcome.
- June 10, 2026 · Dispatch
Epstein Files Crusade Takes Down Nancy Mace
The Washington Times characterized Mace's primary loss as the Epstein files 'crusade' taking her down, a framing the outlet applied to her fifth-place finish in the June 9, 2026 South Carolina GOP governor race. The piece covers her concession remarks, in which she said she 'voted to release the Epstein files and lost some support for that,' and her statement that it was 'not a political opinion' but 'a moral emergency.'
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.
June 9, 2026 · DispatchMace concedes fifth place: "I voted to release the Epstein files and lost some support for that"
On June 9, 2026, after finishing fifth with roughly 12.1 percent of the vote in the South Carolina Republican gubernatorial primary, Mace said she lost support because of her vote to release the Epstein files and called it a choice made on principle.
June 7, 2026 · DispatchMace on CNN: releasing the Epstein files was "a price I am unwilling to pay" for an endorsement
On CNN on June 7, 2026, days before the South Carolina governor primary, Mace said that if Trump's endorsement required her not to vote to release the Epstein files, it was "a price I am unwilling to pay."
May 29, 2026 · Dispatch"NO REGRETS": Trump endorses Evette over Mace; Mace ties the snub to her Epstein vote
On May 29, 2026, President Trump endorsed Mace's primary rival Pam Evette for South Carolina governor. Mace responded on X with "NO REGRETS," directly linking the endorsement snub to her vote to release the Epstein files.