Rep. Nancy Mace drew sharp criticism online over the weekend after sharing a post that suggested she might be open to pursuing the seat of the late Senator Lindsey Graham.
The South Carolina Republican posted a clip from The Godfather III featuring Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone delivering the famous line: “Just when I thought I was out … they pull me back in.”
Reaction to Mace’s apparent hint at a political comeback was immediate, with critics from across the spectrum piling on.
“[Graham’s] body isn’t even cold,” conservative columnist Bethany Mandel wrote in response to Mace. “Nobody is pulling you back in, ghoul.”
Democratic strategist Matt Royer also mocked the suggestion, asking, “Who? Who is pulling you back in?” while pointing to Mace’s last-place showing in South Carolina’s recent Republican gubernatorial primary.
Fox politics editor Will Ricciardella was similarly blunt, writing, “It’s not gonna be you. This right here is every reason why.”
Ned Ryun, the conservative author and CEO of American Majority — and the son of former Kansas congressman and Olympic runner Jim Ryun — also criticized Mace, saying she appeared to be disregarding voters’ clear message.
“Rational people might think, I just got DEAD LAST in a 5 way statewide primary a few weeks ago. Maybe the people of SC don’t want me to represent them. Maybe I should hang it up,” Ryun wrote.
Mace’s post showed a scene from the movie The Godfather III, where Michael Corleone, played by Al Pacino , says, ‘Just when I thought I was out … they pull me back in’
Mace participates in a hearing on Capitol Hill in April 29, 2026 in Washington, DC
Lindsey Graham and President Donald Trump golf together on November 15, 2025
A spokesperson for Mace defended the post by recalling Graham’s sense of humor, saying the Senator ‘loved a good line’ and adding that Mace’s post was made ‘with affection.’
‘Two men announced they were running to replace Lindsey Graham yesterday, within hours of his passing,’ the spokesperson continued. ‘Nancy Mace wasn’t one of them.’
‘Lindsey deserves to be mourned by the people who knew and loved him, not used as a prop by people looking for a headline. That’s where her focus is right now: honoring his legacy and keeping his family and friends in her prayers.’
Mace, who is finishing out her last term in Congress this year, appeared to be at a political dead end after her disastrous governor’s race.
She failed to win Donald Trump’s endorsement and lost her county and congressional district, taking just 11.6 percent of the vote in the June 9 Republican primary.
In an appearance on Fox News on Sunday, she admitted that she would consider running for Graham’s seat, but said she was more concerned with respecting his legacy at the moment.
Trump teased that he had someone in mind to succeed Graham on NBC’s Meet the Press earlier on Sunday, but declined to provide a name out of respect for his former primary foe turned friend, ally, and golf buddy.
‘I have somebody that I think would be great. But I don’t want to say it now because, you know, it’s too soon with Lindsey,’ Trump told NBC’s Kristen Welker.
South Carolina Republican Governor Henry McMaster is likely to appoint a temporary replacement to serve out the rest of Graham’s term, which ends in January.
Donald Trump with South Carolina Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette at a rally in Columbia in February 2024
U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, accompanied by his wife Roxanne, right, takes a photo of their son, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson speaking during his gubernatorial runoff victory party in Columbia, S.C., Tuesday, June 23
To fill the seat permanently, the Republicans have a primary scheduled for August 11. That contest will advance to a runoff on August 25 if no single candidate wins a majority of votes.
Given the Palmetto State’s heavy Republican constituency, the winner of the primary is expected to hold the seat for the next six years.
Republican lawmakers in the state are now eyeing the coveted position – with Graham’s one-time opponent Mark Lynch already expressing his interest in running.
Mace’s fellow House GOP colleague Joe Wilson, 78, the most senior Republican in the South Carolina congressional delegation, was another name floated as Graham’s replacement, but he has opted himself out.
Wilson’s political campaign account posted on X on Sunday morning that he had spoken to President Trump, when he let him know that his ‘goal is to remain in the House to keep his two-vote majority for the American people!!!’
Wilson’s adopted son, Alan, is likely to be the state’s next governor after beating current Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette in the GOP runoff last month.
Evette herself could also be floated for the Senate posting, after garnering just over 30 percent of the vote in the runoff election for governor against Alan Wilson.
She was the top vote-getter in the state’s primary but was unable to coalesce support from the rest of her former primary field in the runoff.
A list of potential Graham successors floated by Politics1 also included Congressman Ralph Norman, who also ran in the GOP gubernatorial primary, as well as former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, who previously served as the state’s governor.
Mace would bring significant baggage into the Senate race, aside from her poor performance in the June primary.
She became a major thorn in Trump’s side during her push to release the Epstein files in the US House of Representatives during the last year.
Mace has also been accused of being a difficult boss and of mistreating her own staff, and she was even filmed in a heated altercation with Charleston airport staff in her home state of South Carolina.
Graham, who had represented South Carolina since 2002, passed away in the early hours of Sunday after what his office called ‘a brief and sudden illness.’
A 911 call for ‘cardiac arrest’ was placed from Graham’s residence around 8.30pm, but no official cause of death has been confirmed.
