BREAKING: South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace Beats Trump-Backed Primary Challenger

South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace beat back a primary challenge from former state legislator and Pentagon official Katie Arrington, according to AP, which called the race at 11:13 p.m. ET Tuesday night.

Trump Endorsement Notwithstanding...

Former President Trump had endorsed Arrington as part of his crusade to stamp out perceived disloyalty within the Republican Party. Arrington's loss "adds to a growing list of failed Trump-backed candidacies," noted Axios.

Mace earned Trump's wrath last January when she voted to certify Joe Biden's 2020 election victory, and then again in October by voting to hold Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress. 

While Mace was not among the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in the wake of the January attack on the Congress, Trump still vowed to do what he could to make her lose the primary. Unlike many GOP lawmakers who openly criticized Trump after the Capitol riot, although for some it was short-lived, Mace seemed to cast herself as a believer in the former president’s agenda, while expressing disagreement with Trump’s supporters over the Jan. 6 attack.

Absurd Comparison To AOC Though She And Mace Have One Thing In Common: Legalizing Cannabis

Throughout the primary campaign, Mace’s challenger Arrington ran ads portraying Mace as a "liberal" ally of Democratic progressive firebrand Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).

While comparing Mace to New York’s AOC was clearly a stretch, the South Carolina Rep. could be said to have a progressive streak when it comes to legalizing cannabis.

Mace, who attended the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Congress in Miami this past April, introduced her own legalization bill, the States Reform Act (SRA) in 2021, which many believe could make it to the finish line and legalize cannabis on a federal level.

Mace's bill is viewed as one of the most comprehensive legalization bids to be introduced in Congress. Mace explained to Benzinga's Javier Hasse in an exclusive interview that the SRA, which enjoys bipartisan support, “seeks to remove cannabis from Schedule I in a manner consistent with the rights of states to determine what level of cannabis reform each state already has, or not."

And the SRA is wide-reaching. 

“This bill supports veterans, law enforcement, farmers, businesses, those with serious illnesses, and it is good for criminal justice reform… The States Reform Act takes special care to keep Americans and their children safe while ending federal interference with state cannabis laws,” Mace added.

Benzinga will be holding its fall Cannabis Capital Conference in Chicago on Sept. 13-14, 2022 where all manner of cannabis leaders, entrepreneurs and experts on the politics of legalization will be there to meet and greet in person. Save some money and grab your early-bird tickets HERE.