Former President Donald Trump endorsed Katie Arrington in her bid to unseat Republican incumbent Rep. Nancy Mace in South Carolina.
Arrington, who announced her campaign Tuesday, worked in the Trump administration as a chief information security officer in the Department of Defense and has already taken a stand in questioning the integrity of the 2020 election.
REP. NANCY MACE DRAWS GOP PRIMARY CHALLENGE FROM 2018 CANDIDATE KATIE ARRINGTON
“I am so humbled and honored. I am a pro-Trump America First conservative American who was just in awe of the president looking at my campaign and saying I am the candidate. It means a great deal to me. The candidate I am running against sold out President Trump, South Carolina District 1, and she sold out the America First agenda,” Arrington told the Washington Examiner. “He’s a good businessman and a very intelligent person who can see things that most people don’t, and he saw a winner.”
Trump’s endorsement comes days after former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley endorsed Mace in the election. Mace, who took office last year, drew ire from Trump for criticizing him following the Jan. 6 riot on Capitol Hill and suggesting that Congress should consider censuring him for his actions that day. She voted against impeaching him in connection to the Capitol siege. She also rejected efforts to overturn the 2020 election and voted against objections to certifying the election.
“Katie Arrington is running against an absolutely terrible candidate, Congresswoman Nancy Mace, whose remarks and attitude have been devastating for her community, and not at all representative of the Republican Party to which she has been very disloyal. Katie Arrington, on the other hand, is liked and respected and a true Republican,” Trump said in a statement Wednesday.
Arrington said Mace betrayed Trump and the people of South Carolina’s 1st District. She also argued that the 2020 election was likely illegitimate and called for states to enact stronger election integrity laws to prevent questions about election results from arising in the future.
“I find it very hard to believe that President Biden got 81 million votes when his approval rating, not even a year it is in the low 30s. Mathematically, that just doesn’t work,” she told the Washington Examiner. “Now is President Biden the duly elected president? Yes, because people like Nancy Mace sold out, didn’t have a backbone, and certified the election. So Joe Biden is absolutely the legitimate president.”
Arrington criticized Mace for taking selfies with Carole Baskin, a controversial figure on the Tiger King series, and for supporting a bill that would legalize marijuana. She argued that Mace should be focusing on matters such as fighting inflation, the supply chain crisis, and rising gas prices.
South Carolina approved a new congressional map last month that made minimal changes to district lines. The 1st District notably no longer encompasses all of Charleston — the largest city in South Carolina. The new map moves the district from leaning Republican to being solidly in favor of Republicans compared to the old map, according to FiveThirtyEight. It is unclear what the population of the district is on the new map, but the old map had a population of more than 820,000 residents.
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In 2018, Arrington received the Republican nomination for the 1st District after defeating incumbent Mark Sanford, who criticized Trump, in a primary. She ended up losing a narrow race in the general election to Democrat Joe Cunningham 50.7% to 49.3%. Mace defeated Cunningham in 2020 in another tight race 50.6% to 49.4%.
Arrington told the Washington Examiner that she had a tough time due to a car crash and her mother’s death shortly after receiving the party’s nomination in 2018. She said the 2022 elections will be different.
“Fundraising was challenging for me to do for about six weeks. Being in the hospital is not an easy place to fundraise from. I did things in the first race that I’ve learned from. I don’t make mistakes twice,” she said. “I will win this election. I will win the general election because the people of South Carolina District 1 want to see a conservative go up to Washington and be a servant leader.”
