Nancy Mace uses SC State House farewell address to continue her congressional pitch
State Rep. Nancy Mace delivered a wide-ranging farewell address on Tuesday, blending personal reflections from her time at the S.C. House with a warning that the country is facing a profound inflection point.
“We are at a tremendous crossroads right now,” Mace said. “We can make the decision to bail on the American experiment and the American dream, but I know that is not the direction our nation needs to go.”
Mace, 42, announced last year that she would not seek a second term in the S.C. House and would instead run for Congress in South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District. The Daniel Island Republican is trying to unseat freshman U.S. Rep. Joe Cunningham, a Democrat from Charleston.
Lines from Mace’s stump speech appeared in her farewell address, from noting the first bill she ever filed in the legislature was an anti-offshore drilling measure to retelling her story of shouting hashbrown orders to line cooks when she worked at Waffle House.
Obliquely referring to the general election, Mace told her colleagues the choice this year is between “freedom, or the government being responsible for all.” She said the country faces a choice between “safety and security, or anarchy.”
“Your ZIP code, your job, your income level should not determine how well you are educated or your job opportunities when you graduate from school,” Mace said.
As Mace delivered her final remarks as a state legislator, photos flashed on a large screen behind her at the S.C. State House.
When she thanked her family for their support throughout her political career, a picture of Mace with her two children, Miles and Elli, appeared on the screen. They were not in the chamber for her remarks because they were in school, but Mace wanted to acknowledge their sacrifices.
“Mommy loves you,” said Mace, who is a single mother. “Thank you for letting me be me, and to run for office. This will be my sixth election in about three years. It’s a lot.”
Mace’s political career
Mace, the first woman to graduate from The Citadel, was elected to the state House of Representatives in 2018. She won a special election to fill the House District 99 seat left vacant by longtime Republican state Rep. Jim Merrill, who held the seat for 22 years. He resigned from his post in 2017, one day before pleading guilty in a Statehouse corruption probe.
The district covers parts of Mount Pleasant, Daniel Island, the Cainhoy peninsula, Hanahan and Mace’s hometown of Goose Creek.
When Mace was sworn into office, she was one of 21 female lawmakers serving in the S.C. House of Representatives. On Tuesday, she was one of 24 women legislators currently serving in the chamber.
She was later re-elected to serve her first full term in November 2018. Mace called representing the district “the honor of a lifetime.”
“Some members come and stay a long time and do little. Others come and stay a short time do a lot. Nancy has been here a short time and she’s done an awful lot, ” said House Speaker Jay Lucas, who appointed Mace to the House Judiciary Committee.
Mace said she was proud of her legislative work that led to the end of shackling pregnant inmates in South Carolina. Gov. Henry McMaster signed her bill to ban the practice into law earlier this year after it receiving support from all 42 state Senators.
As one of 78 Republicans in the 124-member House, Mace also spoke with pride about reaching across the aisle to work with Democrats. She highlighted three lawmakers outside of her party.
Mace praised Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter of Orangeburg for her tenacity, and thanked Rep. Wendell Gilliard of Charleston for always educating lawmakers on Black history.
Mace then said she was personally inspired by Rep. Leola Robinson-Simpson, a Greenville Democrat who fought for civil rights when she was a teenager.
“So often we hear a bunch of noise in the media, but the work is done here,” Mace said of the State House chamber.
Mace then asked her colleagues to think about the crossroads facing the country, telling them she hoped they will be able to stand together and look for a better path.
“And that we take it,” she said.
At the end of her speech, a photo of the American flag appeared on the screen behind her.
