South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace’s ex-chief of staff files to run against former boss

The former chief of staff for Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) is launching a primary challenge against his ex-boss just a month after leaving her office. 

Dan Hanlon filed his statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission Friday and will now challenge Mace for her seat in Congress representing South Carolina’s First Congressional District. 

Hanlon and Mace had a falling out last October, after the South Carolina lawmaker voted with seven other Republicans and all Democrats to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). 

After the vote, McCarthy referenced Hanlon during a press conference where he called out Mace over her claims that he wasn’t keeping his word. 

“So, I call [Mace’s] chief of staff [Hanlon] … I said, ‘Can you please tell me, I don’t understand? Where have I not kept my word?’” McCarthy told reporters the day he was removed from the speakership. “Chief of staff said, ‘You have kept your word 100%.’

“Her chief of staff told all of us we have kept every single one of our words. And he said he’s told her that, too,” the former speaker added. 

McCarthy noted during the press conference that he would give Hanlon a job if Mace fired him.

Mace reportedly started to “ice [Hanlon] out” and became “mistrusting” of him after hearing what McCarthy told the press, according to the Daily Mail. 

Hanlon is reportedly among six former Mace staffers who have recently quit, and multiple ex Mace staffers are advising Hanlon on his new campaign, according to the outlet.

The work environment in Mace’s office has been described as “toxic,” according to the Washington Examiner, and one in which the congresswomen frequently subjected her subordinates to inappropriate commentary about her sex life. 

Hanlon worked for four years in the Trump administration’s Office of Management and Budget before joining Mace’s staff in 2021. 

Mace’s office did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.