Rep. Nancy Mace lost her bid for the Republican nomination for South Carolina governor on Tuesday, finishing a distant fifth in the primary with 12.1 percent of the vote.

Mace, who has represented the state's 1st congressional district since 2021, received 57,332 votes according to certified results. Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette led with 28.9 percent and will face state Attorney General Alan Wilson in a runoff after he placed second with 26.1 percent.

The outcome ends Mace's campaign for higher office after a contentious primary marked by shifting alignments within the state GOP. President Donald Trump endorsed Evette, who benefited from that support in the open race to succeed term-limited Gov. Henry McMaster.

Mace had positioned herself as a top contender early on but saw her support erode amid reports of scandals and her past decisions to diverge from Trump on key issues before later aligning more closely. Her effort to advance the release of Jeffrey Epstein files drew particular attention during the campaign.

Voters in the primary selected two candidates to proceed, leaving Mace and others including Rep. Ralph Norman outside the runoff. The results reflect a clear preference among Republican primary voters for candidates backed by the president's endorsement in the governor's race.

Mace's loss leaves her political future uncertain as she continues to serve out her current House term. The general election for governor will feature the Republican nominee against the Democratic winner, state Rep. Jermaine Johnson, who secured his party's nomination with nearly 60 percent of the vote.