Rep. Sarah McBride mocked her frequent antagonist, Rep. Nancy Mace, after the Republican finished in an embarrassing fifth place in the South Carolina gubernatorial primary.
“My colleague and Congress’s top bathroom sheriff, Nancy Mace, is on the ballot,” McBride said at the Equality PAC’s National Pride Gala on Tuesday in Washington, to boos from the crowd. “And while not all of the votes have been counted yet, she is in a respectful 5th place.”
“I don’t like to punch down and I believe in the politics of grace, so I’ll just say, Happy Pride, Nancy,” McBride added in her speech.
The comments were a reference to Mace’s successful push to ban transgender people from using bathrooms corresponding to their gender identity at the Capitol. Mace’s effort came in direct response to the 2024 election of McBride, the first openly transgender person to serve in the House. Mace, who once said she “strongly” supports “LGBTQ rights and equality,” also grabbed headlines during her time on the Hill for repeatedly using an anti-trans slur during a House hearing.
The Independent has contacted the Mace campaign for comment.
Mace finished fifth in her primary campaign for governor of South Carolina, coming in behind the Trump-endorsed lieutenant governor, Pamela Evette.
The South Carolina firebrand blamed her loss in part on challenging Republican leaders and siding with Democrats to push for the release of the Epstein files.
“I voted to release the Epstein files and lost some support for that,” she wrote on X.
The Palmetto State Republican said her experience as a survivor of sexual assault helped inspire her to campaign for the release of the files.
“As a survivor, I chose to stand on principle and stand against the Epstein cover-up,” she added.
In addition to her anti-trans bathroom crusade — which at one point included Mace and fellow Republican Lauren Boebert storming into a bathroom to try and kick out an alleged violator of the ban, only for Boebert to admit it was a case of “mistaken identity” — Mace’s time in Congress included multiple other allegations of aggressive personal behavior.
Former staffers accused Mace in a bombshell magazine profile of being erratic, toxic, and abusing drugs and alcohol, which she denied.
Mace was also accused of launching an expletive-filled rant at airport police officers in South Carolina because of issues with an expected security escort, allegations she has called “false and misleading.”
Mace will not be seeking reelection after her congressional term is up in January 2027, and says she plans to return to the private sector.
