Rep. Nancy Mace, under pressure to show her commitment to Donald Trump, flew to New York to record a social media video outside Trump Tower, assuring her South Carolina voters that she was one of his “earliest supporters.”
Rep. Tom Rice has taken a different approach in the face of similar scrutiny, quietly winding through rural stretches of his congressional district to remind voters of his work securing federal relief for frequent — and often disastrous — flooding, as well as his advocacy for agricultural improvements.
Mace and Rice, both lifelong Republicans who represent adjacent congressional districts in one of the most solidly Republican states in the country, are unlikely participants in the tumultuous fight over their party’s future. However, they’re also up against vigorous primary challenges this summer from Trump-backed opponents, which might indicate the former president’s grip on the party as he considers a run for the White House. The primary will be held on June 14th.
When Trump hosts a rally in Florence, South Carolina, alongside his primary opponents, the spotlight on Mace and Rice might escalate
. He’ll almost certainly repeat his attack of the incumbents as being untrustworthy.