Nancy Mace raises $714k during second quarter in bid to oust Cunningham in SC-1

Republican state Rep. Nancy Mace raised $714,000 during the second quarter of 2020 in her bid to unseat U.S. Rep. Joe Cunningham in South Carolina’s coastal congressional district.

The almost three-quarters of a million dollars raised from April 1 to June 30 brings Mace’s campaign fundraising total to $1.9 million for the cycle, Mace campaign manager Mara Mellstrom told The State on Friday.

“Even with just three weeks as the nominee, her second quarter haul ... is impressive and shows she will have the resources to run to win this fall,” Mellstrom said.

Mace faces a popular incumbent in the 1st District race.

Cunningham’s victory in 2018 was the first time a Democrat won the district since 1978, and Republicans are keen to win it back. The race is expected to be a tight one, with both the Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball, nonpartisan political analysts, listing the race as a “toss up.”

Touting her allegiance to President Donald Trump ⁠— she worked on the president’s 2016 campaign ⁠— Mace emerged from a crowded GOP primary field in June, when she defeated three opponents by capturing nearly 58% of votes cast.

But the first female graduate of The Citadel, South Carolina’s military college, is going to need cash to compete.

Cunningham’s campaign reported Tuesday that he brought in more than $862,000 during the second quarter of the year, bringing his total for the election cycle to nearly $4.4 million and his cash on hand to $3 million.

The Mace campaign did not report cash on hand to The State.

Mace told The State on Thursday that she needs to raise as much as $1.5 million more to be competitive with Cunningham.

“I’ve got to raise the same amount of money in half the time, basically,” Mace said. “I only have one full quarter to raise, and I’m working extremely hard each and every day to make that happen. No one is going to work harder than I will.”

Both candidates will file formal fundraising totals with the Federal Election Commission by July 15.