Trump picks up Mace endorsement

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) threw her support behind former President Trump, marking his latest endorsement from Nikki Haley’s home state of South Carolina.

Mace announced the decision on Monday, stating it’s time to unite behind a nominee.

“I don’t see eye to eye perfectly with any candidate. And until now I’ve stayed out of it. But the time has come to unite behind our nominee,” Mace wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “To be honest, it’s been a complete shit show since he left the White House. Our country needs to reverse all the damage Joe Biden has done. “

Mace said the nation had a “booming” economy, a “locked down” border and was safer under the former president and argued Trump’s record in his first term “should tell every American how vital it is he be returned to office.”

Mace first confirmed to The Associated Press on Monday she was backing Trump over Haley, the former South Carolina governor who lives in her congressional district and supported her during the 2022 midterms.

Haley, Trump’s former United Nations ambassador, is now the only challenger to Trump in the GOP primary following Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s suspension of his presidential campaign on Sunday, following a disappointing result in last week’s Iowa caucuses.

Mace’s show of support for the former president follows a series of other endorsements from South Carolina, about a month out from the state’s primary election.

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who suspended his GOP White House bid in November, threw his support behind Trump late last week. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R), who served as lieutenant governor under Haley, endorsed the former president last year.

Trump holds a nearly 33-point lead over Haley in the Palmetto State, garnering about 59 percent of support to Haley’s 25.5 percent, according to a polling index from The Hill and Decision Desk HQ, which included DeSantis before he dropped out on Sunday.

All eyes are on New Hampshire this week as the Granite State prepares to hold its first-in-the-nation primary on Tuesday. Trump is leading Haley in the state by nearly 11 points, based on The Hill and Decision Desk HQ’s polling index that included DeSantis.

DeSantis’s suspension of his campaign could increase Trump’s lead in the Granite State, according to a poll released hours before Sunday’s announcement.

The CNN/University of New Hampshire poll found that 62 percent of likely GOP New Hampshire voters who selected DeSantis as their first-choice candidate chose Trump as their second-choice candidate, while 30 percent chose Haley as their alternate candidate.

Updated at 10:34 a.m.