Your guide to understanding SC’s top U.S. House race: Joe Cunningham vs Nancy Mace
In the shadow of a high-stakes presidential campaign, Republicans and Democrats are also locked in a fierce fight over which party will control the U.S. House in 2020.
The answer may depend on the outcome of South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District race, where Democrat Joe Cunningham is trying to defend his seat against Republican challenger Nancy Mace.
The battle lines were drawn from the moment Cunnigham narrowly won this seat in 2018, becoming the first Democrat in nearly 40 years to represent the coastal district. The seat was last held by former S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford, who lost his 2018 GOP primary.
Cunningham’s victory here shocked national analysts who never thought a Democrat could win the historically Republican district. (Forecasters at FiveThirtyEight gave Cunningham a 9.4% chance of winning.) The returns baffled South Carolina Republicans who didn’t think they had to worry about losing the seat.
For the last two years, the GOP has been trying to win it back.
With President Donald Trump back at the top of the ticket and Cunningham’s narrow margin of victory in 2018, Republicans see the Charleston-anchored seat as a must-win if they want to flip 17 seats needed to regain control of the House.
Democrats, meanwhile, are trying not only to defend their turf but also expand their influence nationally.
Republican voters in June overwhelmingly picked Mace to be their nominee to take on Cunningham in the fall. She beat out three other contenders who were vying for the chance to challenge him.
Mace, a Daniel Island state lawmaker, has deep ties to the district. She grew up in Goose Creek is best known for being the first woman to graduate from The Citadel Corps of Cadets. She is 42, and is a single mother of two children, Elli and Myles.
Cunningham is 38, and has one son, Boone, with his wife, Amanda Cunningham.
The high-stakes race has taken its share of twists and turns. And, in a departure from where the district stood two years ago, nonpartisan analysts have been shifting the race in Cunningham’s favor.
With its mix of retirees, newcomers, military veterans and suburbanites, the district includes parts of Charleston, Berkeley, Dorchester, Colleton and Beaufort counties.
Some of the pitches to voters have been nationalized, like the “law and order” messaging that emerged from Republicans after social unrest erupted following the death of George Floyd. Other issues have been distinctly local, like the fate of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot on Parris Island.
There’s still plenty of race left to run, though, and both candidates are making their final pitch to voters.
Forecasters at FiveThirtyEight give Mace a 46% percent chance of flipping the seat and predict Cunningham has a 54% chance of holding onto the seat.
Here’s a recap of what’s happened in the fight for South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, which is considered one of the nation’s top U.S. House races.
The pandemic
Both Mace and Cunningham tested positive for the novel coronavirus in the spring, but exhibited different symptoms. Cunningham tested positive for the virus in late March after his office said he came in contact with another member of Congress who tested positive for COVID-19.
Mace tested positive just weeks later, after securing the GOP congressional nomination in June. Mace, however, faced backlash when photos of a crowded and largely mask-less primary Election Night party circulated online.
Both candidates have since stressed how serious the virus is while talking to voters on the campaign trail, and draw on their own firsthand experience with how they were impacted by COVID-19.
The pandemic also impacted the way the candidates campaigned. Most of Cunningham’s campaign events this year were held virtually, while Mace participated in a blend of online and in-person events.
Attacking each other and dodging Trump
The two candidates participated in a pair of debates, despite Mace at one point calling for as many as five.
In their first televised debate, both went on the attack, showing just how competitive the race has become.
In the second debate a week later, both tried to dodge a question about Trump. The president won the district by 13 percentage points in 2016, and Mace worked as a coalitions director and field director for Trump’s 2016 White House bid.
But neither candidate sought to defend Trump when asked if Trump was a uniter or a divider. And neither aligned themselves with the president as they sought to secure their own electoral victory in November. Mace did, however, remind voters that Cunningham voted to impeach Trump.
Days after the second debate, Mace tried and failed to get Cunningham to participate in two more debates. Political watchers read it as an attempt by Mace to try to build momentum or overcome a perceived lead Cunningham may hold.
Parris Island
The fate of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot on Parris Island became a topic of debate both times Cunningham and Mace squared off on-stage.
Mace claimed that Cunningham’s vote on a massive defense bill put the Parris Island Marine base “on the chopping block.” She argued the final package included an amendment inserted by “California liberals, his colleagues” requiring Marines to prohibit gender-segregated training at Parris Island in the next five years.
Members of South Carolina’s Washington delegation have refuted her claim.
A group of retired Marine officers later called for Mace to “tone down” her rhetoric, calling her claims about Parris Island “outlandish” and “factually inaccurate.” They argue sea level rise poses a threat to the historic training depot, not a gender integration requirement.
Big-name endorsements
Because the race is top target for both Democrats and Republicans, big names in both parties have waded into the contest.
President Donald Trump has on three occasions tweeted his “complete and total endorsement” of Mace. Vice President Mike Pence headlined a fundraiser for her in July, and has also tweeted his support of Mace on social media.
Other high-profile Republicans are backing Mace, too, including former S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley, who has become a powerhouse 2020 campaign surrogate for Republicans around the country this cycle and is also a new 1st District voter, having moved to Kiawah Island in May. During the primary, she was endorsed by House Minority Leader U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La.
In August, former President Barack Obama endorsed Cunningham. Cunningham was one of two Democratic candidates from South Carolina that won the former president’s backing. Jaime Harrison, who is challenging S.C. Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, was the second.
Cunningham also secured the endorsement of the US Chamber, a pro-business group which in years past has backed Republicans for office.
Q&A with the candidates
As Election Day approaches, both Mace and Cunningham told The State about their stances on key issues voters care about in the 2020 election.
You can read their responses here and check out The State newspaper’s Voter Guide for your personalized ballot.
This story was originally published October 28, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
