Republican Nancy Mace tests positive for COVID-19 during campaign for Congress
Nancy Mace, the South Carolina Republican running for congress, said she tested positive for COVID-19.
Mace announced she had the coronavirus Tuesday night, two weeks after winning the GOP primary to challenge Democrat incumbent Joe Cunningham for the Lowcountry’s 1st District congressional seat on Election Day in November. Mace is currently a state Rep. from Berkeley County.
The 42-year-old Daniel Island resident said she learned Monday that her campaign staff was exposed to the coronavirus. Mace said she took a nasal swab rapid test “out of an abundance of caution and concern for my children and my team.”
“I tested positive for COVID-19 a few minutes later,” Mace said on Twitter. “I was feeling a little fatigued with a body ache this weekend but that is kind of normal on the campaign trail. I have a slightly stuffy nose and mild body ache, but I do not have a fever or cough.”
Mace is the second state lawmaker to publicly confirm having the coronavirus, joining State Rep. Kambrell Garvin, D-Richland. Garvin confirmed he tested positive for coronavirus in May, but said he is doing fine and has only had “mild” symptoms.
Mace tweeted she has been in touch with everyone she has been in close contact with over the past week — to the best of her knowledge.
She won’t be on the campaign trail for some time.
“My children and I will be in quarantine for the next two weeks or until I test negative for COVID,” Mace tweeted.
Mace said she is paying for her staff to get tested, and they have been told to self quarantine and work from home.
The congressional hopeful also posted a list of testing sites in South Carolina on her Twitter feed, and told anyone that has been in close contact with her over the past week to reach out to their doctors.
“To all those who have been affected by COVID-19, I continue to keep you in my thoughts,” Mace tweeted.
Mace is a known name in the state — from challenging U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham in the state’s 2014 GOP primary to working for Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. In the lead up to the Republican primary, she pitched herself as the only candidate able to raise enough money to compete with Cunningham’s sizeable war chest.
Cunningham tested positive for COVID-19 in March, telling The State he was lucky to have a mild case and get diagnosed quickly. He said he never experienced so much as a cough or fever or fatigue.
“I realize so many aren’t as lucky as I am,” Cunningham said.
On Tuesday, Cunningham issued a message of support for Mace.
“Thinking about you, Nancy. And the kids and your whole team,” Cunningham tweeted. “This virus is rough but my family and team are here if you need anything at all.”
Mace defeated three fellow Republican challengers — Chris Cox, Brad Mole and Kathy Landing — to win her party’s nomination to challenge Cunningham. Their race is expected to be one of the state’s most hotly contested congressional showdowns in November.
Mace was the first female graduate from what was the state’s all-male military college, The Citadel. She won her Berkeley County seat in a 2018 special election, filling the vacancy of then-Rep. Jim Merrill who resigned from office. While in the Legislature, Mace authored what is now a law that bans the shacking or restraining of pregnant inmates or detainees in S.C. prisons and jails. And she worked to amend anti-abortion legislation to include exceptions for incest and rape after detailing last year her own story of sexual assault.
This story was originally published June 24, 2020 at 7:48 AM.
