Mace says she has 'no regrets' over Epstein files push after Trump backs rival in governor race

CHARLESTON, SC: Representative Nancy Mace delivered a defiant response after President Donald J Trump bypassed her to deliver a surprise, last-minute endorsement to her rival in South Carolina's crowded Republican gubernatorial primary. 

Breaking with the White House, Mace declared she has absolutely "no regrets" about her aggressive, high-visibility legislative crusade to force the public release of the hidden Jeffrey Epstein files, even though she acknowledged the transparency push ultimately cost her the president's backing.

The political fracture erupted early Saturday morning, May 30, after Trump announced his "Complete and Total Endorsement" of Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette for the nomination.

Writing on X, Mace refused to back down, stating: “I voted to release the Epstein files. NO REGRETS. If sacrificing my values is the price of an endorsement, I will never pay it.”

Mace was one of just four House Republicans who bucked party leaders last year to sign a bipartisan discharge petition forcing a vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which legally compelled the Justice Department to unseal millions of documents regarding the dead offender and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

Congresswoman slams heavy federal redactions

Mace has consistently targeted the Justice Department's handling of the document rollout, slamming the sluggish release speeds and heavy redactions.

As a survivor of a broken court system, she argued that "terabytes" of critical data were still being actively withheld from the public despite federal assertions that the records review is finalized.

Surprise endorsement shakes up primary

Trump’s late-Friday intervention completely disrupted the Palmetto State race just as early voting was actively underway for the June 9 primary election.

Pamela Evette currently has a narrow 16% lead in a recent South Carolina Policy Council poll, followed tightly by Representative Ralph Norman at 15%, Attorney General Alan Wilson at 14%, Mace at 13%, and Rom Reddy at 10%.

With a massive 27% of voters still completely undecided, Trump's backing is expected to carry immense weight in a state fiercely loyal to his populist agenda.