Nancy Mace says she would be doing ‘enormous disservice’ to constituents by voting for Scalise

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) said she would refuse to vote for House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) for the position of speaker because doing so would be a disservice to her constituents.

In an interview on CNN, Mace gave her thoughts on the speaker race, which she helped cause after being one of the eight Republican votes to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). She said that she would refuse to support the Republican nominee, Scalise, due to him speaking at a controversial event over 20 years ago.

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“I’ve been very vocal about this in the past few days — I personally cannot, in good conscience, vote for someone who attended a white supremist (sic) conference and compared himself to David Duke,” Mace said. “I would be doing an enormous disservice to the voters I represent in South Carolina if I were to do that.”

Mace said that she would instead support Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) for the speakership.

The controversy Mace was referring to was a 2002 incident in which Scalise spoke at an event of the European-American Unity and Rights Organization, run by former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. Scalise maintains that he was unaware of the group’s beliefs and was booked to the event by a member of his staff. He only had one person working for him at the time.

“When someone called and asked me to speak, I would go,” Scalise said in 2014. “If I knew today what they were about, I wouldn’t go.”

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He elaborated in another statement that year, saying that he spoke with the group as part of a wider speaking trip on a piece of legislation regarding cutting taxes and government spending.

“One of the many groups that I spoke to regarding this critical legislation was a group whose views I wholeheartedly condemn. It was a mistake I regret, and I emphatically oppose the divisive racial and religious views groups like these hold,” he said. “I am very disappointed that anyone would try to infer otherwise for political gain. As a Catholic, these groups hold views that are vehemently opposed to my own personal faith, and I reject that kind of hateful bigotry. Those who know me best know I have always been passionate about helping, serving, and fighting for every family that I represent. And I will continue to do so.”