Mace and Wilson clash as top GOP candidates for SC governor in 2026

EXCLUSIVE – As she launched her campaign for South Carolina governor, Republican Rep. Nancy Mace took aim at what she called “weak leadership” in the state.

The statement from Mace, which was reported first by Fox News Digital on Monday, appeared to be a subtle dig at the state’s Republican leaders, including longtime South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, who is a top rival for the Republican gubernatorial nomination.

Mace and Wilson are considered the front-runners in a crowded GOP primary field in the 2026 race to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Henry McMaster, who is the Palmetto State’s longest-serving governor.

Wilson, in an exclusive national interview with Fox News Digital a couple of hours after Mace announced her candidacy, argued that “Mace has been ranting and raving for the last six months about running for governor without actually saying it.”

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Mace told Fox News a week and a half ago, ahead of her campaign launch, “I will fight to the finish, and I will take out South Carolina’s Attorney General, because he’s turned a blind eye on women and on children and on the state for a lot of reasons. He might force me to do this.”

Mace, in a bombshell speech on the U.S. House floor in February, alleged that Wilson ignored evidence of sexual assault against her and other women. In her hour-long speech, Mace accused four men, including her ex-fiance, of sexual crimes and said she was among the victims.

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Wilson vehemently denied Mace’s accusations, saying at the time “that allegation was never made to me — no one in my…