Nancy Mace holds wide lead over primary rivals in South Carolina: Poll

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) holds a sizeable lead over her primary rivals in South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, according to a new Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey released on Thursday. 

Forty-seven percent of likely South Carolina Republican primary voters said they backed Mace, while 22 percent said they were supporting former state agency official Catherine Templeton. Another seven percent backed businessman Bill Young and another 24 percent said they were undecided. 

“Mace’s support is strongest among voters over 70, 53 percent of whom support the Representative, voters without a college degree, at 51 percent , and male voters, at 49 percent,” said Spencer Kimball, the executive director of Emerson College polling. 

The latest polling comes less than three weeks from the state’s Republican primary. Mace, who faced a primary challenger last cycle, has sparked backlash from her fellow Republicans from her moves to challenge the GOP establishment. The most recent example of this took place last year when Mace joined with seven other Republican lawmakers to oust then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) from his position. 

In addition to leading in recent polling, Mace also appears to have a cash advantage in the race. Despite Templeton outraising Mace in the first quarter of the year, the incumbent congresswoman still has more cash in the bank. 

The Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey was conducted on May 19-21 among 400 likely Republican primary voters in South Carolina’s first congressional district. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.