Democratic Congressional Committee looks to flip SC-1, plans to spend in district
With U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace running for governor in South Carolina, national Democrats are planning to invest in her congressional district to flip the seat back to blue.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is adding the 1st Congressional District in the Lowcountry to the committee’s Districts in Play program.
The last time the DCCC invested in the seat was in 2020 when it tried to defend former one-term U.S. Rep. Joe Cunningham, who lost to Mace in the election. After Mace’s victory, the Republican-controlled General Assembly redrew the district to make it more reliably Republican.
With Mace seeking statewide office, 16 people have filed paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission to raise money to run for the seat. Official filing to appear on the ballot for the June primary is in March.
“House Republicans, including Nancy Mace, have seen the writing on the wall and are abandoning their House seats in droves,” DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene said in a statement. “They are finally waking up to what the DCCC has known all along – Democrats are on the offensive, and we’re taking the fight to Republicans everywhere, including South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District.”
How much the DCCC will spend in the district is still being determined, but the program allows donors to contribute to a “nominee fund,” which will eventually go toward the eventual nominee’s campaign. Before Tuesday’s announcement, the DCCC had 39 nominee funds in its Districts in Play program to gain control of the U.S. House.
Traditionally the party that controls the White House suffers setbacks in the midterm elections. Republicans hold a narrow majority in the U.S. House.
Six Democrats have filed for the South Carolina seat: Mac Deford, Mayra Rivera-Vazquez, Max Diaz, Matthew Fulmer, Nancy Lacore and KJ Atwood.
Deford has reported raising $221,000 during the cycle and ended 2025 with more than $90,000 cash on hand.
Rivera-Vazquez has raised nearly $82,000 during the cycle and ended 2025 with more than $32,000 cash on hand.
Lacore, who jumped into the race in January, said she raised $500,000 in her first two weeks on the trail.
Diaz has raised $1,000 during the cycle and had $43 cash on hand at the end of 2025.
Fulmer and Atwood have not yet filed fundraising reports.
This story was originally published February 10, 2026 at 6:00 AM.
