Trans Congresswoman McBride Wishes Nancy Mace "Happy Pride" After Mace Finishes 5th In Primary

Congresswoman Mace has been a primary architect of anti-trans bills and policies in congress. Her career is now over.

Congresswoman McBride // House.gov

Yesterday, Congresswoman Nancy Mace, one of the most prominent anti-trans voices in Congress, ran for the Republican nomination for governor of South Carolina—and finished in fifth place. Mace staked her political career on anti-trans activism, pushing amendment after amendment targeting transgender people during her tenure and most infamously championing the ban on Congresswoman Sarah McBride, the first openly transgender member of Congress, from using women's restrooms in the Capitol. Now, in what trans communities online were quick to note as a familiar number—anti-trans activist and swimmer Riley Gaines also famously tied for fifth place with Lia Thomas—Mace's political career is effectively over. She gave up her congressional seat to run for governor and cannot return. As a result, at the Equality PAC's National Pride Gala last night, McBride took the stage as the results rolled in, referred to Mace as "Congress's top bathroom sheriff," noted that she was in "a respectful fifth place," and wishing Mace a “Happy Pride.”

"Today is a big day because today is the South Carolina Republican gubernatorial primary," started McBride, continuing, "And for those of you who aren't aware, my colleague—and Congress's top bathroom sheriff—Nancy Mace, is on the ballot. And while not all of the votes have been counted yet, she is in a respectful fifth place. I don't like punching down, and I believe in the politics of grace. So all I will say is: Happy Pride, Nancy,” to which she received a standing ovation.

See the video here, curtesy of Advocate reporter Christopher Wiggins:

The loss is significant. Mace was not merely anti-trans—she made targeting transgender people the defining project of her congressional career. She championed the ban on McBride and all transgender people from using restrooms in the Capitol, then escalated with a sweeping federal bathroom ban bill that would have applied to every federal building in the country, including major airports like Dulles and Reagan—that bill did not pass. She called trans protesters a slur while wandering the halls of the Senate with a bullhorn, having confused which building the protesters were in. She and Lauren Boebert confronted a woman in a Capitol bathroom they suspected was transgender—she was cisgender. Her entire webpage is filled with anti-trans activism and bills targeting transgender people.

Now, her political career is over—at least for now. Mace made a calculated gambit to trade her congressional seat for the governor's mansion, declining to file for reelection in SC-01. But despite spending two years remolding herself into one of Trump's most visible culture warriors, Trump endorsed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette instead. Without his backing, Mace finished fifth with 12%, not winning a single county in the state—including Charleston, which is her home county. She cannot return to her House seat: the filing deadline has passed. When her term ends in January 2027, Nancy Mace will hold no office. The woman who gave up a safe House seat to chase a promotion on the strength of an anti-trans brand she invented in 2024 will leave Washington with nothing to show for it.

It is notable that the winners of the Republican primary are not much better on transgender issues—and one may be worse. Alan Wilson, who finished second and will advance to a June 23 runoff against Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, was a leading state official in the landmark Supreme Court case in support of Tennessee's gender-affirming care ban in United States v. Skrmetti, calling the ruling “a win for sanity and for the safety of our kids.” He also told the city of Columbia to overturn its conversion therapy ban. Evette, for her part, celebrated the Skrmetti decision as well, writing "Amen! Protecting our kids and America's future generations is a non-negotiable." Neither candidate, however, made anti-trans activism the theatrical centerpiece of their campaign the way Mace did. Mace built her entire political identity around targeting transgender people, gave up a safe congressional seat to ride that brand to the governor's mansion, and it got her fifth place.

As for McBride, she and countless transgender people have endured two years of Nancy Mace's cruelty. Now, at least, trans staffers, journalists, and the nation's first transgender congresswoman will no longer have to see Mace in the halls of the Capitol after her term ends in January 2027. And if Democrats retake the House in November, the bathroom restrictions Mace forced into place—her sole lasting act of spite—will likely be among the first things to go.