South Carolina Rep Nancy Mace (R) made an about-face on her previous support of same-sex marriage by posting “Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve” on her X account on October 28. This comes after defending herself on the platform nearly a year ago by pointing out that she “voted for gay marriage twice.” Mace did in fact vote for the Respect for Marriage Act two times in 2022.
Mace has a history of backpedaling on LGBTQ rights. As reported previously in QNotes, Mace’s record on LGBTQ+ issues has shifted significantly over the past few years. Once considered a moderate, she supported the Fairness for All Act and voiced support for same-sex marriage. By 2023, however, she had begun openly aligning with anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. In 2025, she publicly called herself a “proud transphobe” and introduced legislation targeting transgender access to restrooms on federal property, singling out Delaware State Sen. Sarah McBride by name.
Bathrooms appear to be Mace’s cause célèbre. Shortly after targeting McBride, Newsweek reported in Nov 2024 that she made 326 posts about her bathroom bill during a 72-hour period. In addition, Mace filed an expanded bathroom bill (H.R.10186) that would “Prohibit individuals from accessing or using single-sex facilities on Federal property other than those corresponding to their biological sex, and for other purposes.”
Mace has also used the bathroom issue to go after her critics. After conservative Fox News Host Trey Gowdy criticized her on X for not supporting a Trump-backed spending bill, Mace fired back with a picture of Gowdy and said “Which bathroom do we think Trey Gowdy uses?”
In November 2024 NBC News reported that when challenged by trans and queer activist Evan Greer during a summit at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., “Mace responded by misgendering Greer and making a comment about her genitals, which the crowd booed at.”
Mace is seeking to be the Republican nominee for Governor of South Carolina in 2026, and a Winthrop University poll released on October 28 has her essentially tied for first place with current South Carolina Lt Governor Pamela Evette among likely Republican voters.
Mace has claimed she is “Trump in high heels,” but he has yet to endorse a candidate in the South Carolina governor’s race, a state where Trump’s support is highly valued. Mace told Politico: “He’ll get to decide my fate. He is a kingmaker, and I hope in this case he will be a queenmaker.”