LAS VEGAS — Former House Speaker and California GOP Rep. Kevin McCarthy trashed Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) Thursday, claiming she won’t win reelection in her purple South Carolina district.
Asked about Mace and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) as potential running mates for former President Donald Trump in the November election, McCarthy dismissed the former immediately, telling reporters, “I don’t even think Nancy Mace can win reelection.”
As for Stefanik, he said during Trump’s Nevada caucus victory party in Las Vegas, “I think Elise is good.”
Mace was one of eight Republicans who voted with Democrats on a motion to vacate the speaker’s seat, leading to the successful ouster of McCarthy from the post just nine months in.
“I don’t think she represents her district,” McCarthy said.
He further referenced the recent mass exodus of nearly all of Mace’s congressional staffers. “You watch how she’s failed for the low country,” he continued. “She flip-flops every single day. She doesn’t have a principle.”
“If you listen to her district, they have a real concern with her even being reelected,” McCarthy added.
Mace responded in a statement to the Washington Examiner, saying, “It is the honor of a lifetime for me to serve the Lowcountry, and I work hard every day to do so.”
“Folks back home don’t really care about what a failed former speaker and his establishment cronies in D.C. think. I know two things about the next Congress: I’ll be there serving my constituents as I always have, and he won’t be there at all,” she quipped.
Pressed on reports of his involvement in fielding primary opponents against those who supported his ouster, McCarthy denied such claims.
The former speaker’s campaign ended 2023 with $9.5 million in cash on hand despite his decision not to seek reelection and to end his term early. If he chooses to, McCarthy could tip the scales in various primary elections with hefty transfers.
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A Republican strategist and McCarthy ally, Brian O. Walsh, has reportedly led a charge to find primary challengers for the eight Republican conference members that cemented McCarthy’s removal. According to Politico, Walsh and his operation are preparing to direct the California Republican’s significant network of donors towards supporting primary opponents to potentially vulnerable members of this group.
After Republican Catherine Templeton filed to run against Mace in her upcoming primary, Mace attributed the challenge’s bid to McCarthy, calling him “a bitter mean girl on a revenge tour.”
