So. Nancy Mace, a Republican congresswoman from South Carolina, at one time positioned herself as an ally of LGBTQ+ community, even voting for the Respect for Marriage Act in 2022. But Nancy has made a sharp right turn since then, though, making anti-LGBTQ+ — especially anti-transgender — efforts a major centerpiece of her political life. That includes her run for the South Carolina governor’s office, a campaign that ended Tuesday, June 9, in ignominious defeat when she finished fifth in a field of seven candidates for the GOP gubernatorial nomination.
Since it became apparent she wasn’t gonna get the nomination and since she wasn’t running for re-election to Congress, Mace has indicated she will be returning to the private sector when her current term in the U.S. House ends at noon on Jan. 3, 2027.
After hearing that Mace had lost her gubernatorial bid this week. U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride of Delaware — the first, and so far only, openly transgender person elected to Congress — surely had reason to celebrate. I mean, had she chosen, even, to do a little victory dance there in halls of Congress, you really couldn’t have held it against her.
After all, Mace didn’t even wait until McBride was sworn into office after she was elected to Congress in 2024 to start attacking her. On Nov. 18, 2024, Mace introduced a resolution in the House barring McBride and all other trans people from using “single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex” in congressional buildings. Two days later, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson announced Mace’s resolution would be enacted.
That wasn’t the end of Mace’s anti-trans hatefulness. She also filed legislation to restrict transgender women from using female restrooms in all federal buildings and federally funded schools, and she threatened to cut public funding for schools that “push gender ideology” or allow gender inclusivity in facilities. And anti-LGBTQ+ stances were a cornerstone of her education platform in her run for governor.
So yeah. Congresswoman Sarah McBride had ALL the reasons to gloat. But she has way too much class for that.
So what did Congresswoman McBride do instead of dancing or gloating? Well, as The Advocate reports, she just smiled, and said, “Happy Pride, Nancy.”
— Tammye Nash