Incumbent Nancy Mace (R) defeated Katie Arrington (R) in the Republican primary for South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District on June 14, 2022, winning about 53% of the vote.
Arrington won the district’s Republican primary in 2018, defeating then-incumbent and former governor Mark Sanford (R) before losing the general election to Joe Cunningham (D). Cunningham was the first Democratic U.S. House candidate to win election in the district since 1978. Mace defeated Cunningham in 2020 and said she is better-positioned to win the general election. Former President Donald Trump (R) opposed Mace after she voted to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election. His endorsement of Arrington focused national media attention on the race.
Mace represented South Carolina’s 99th House District from 2018 to 2020. Her campaign focused on electability. Mace said, “It’s the 10th fastest growing congressional district in the country…That makes the dynamics a lot different. You’ve got to be able to win your primary but you also have to be able to win a general election…Nancy Pelosi would love nothing more than to win it back.” Mace was endorsed by former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley (R), former White House chief of staff and U.S. representative from South Carolina Mick Mulvaney (R), U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R), and others.
