Nancy Mace Hit With Total Embarrassment During CNN Segment
On election night, CNN's panel momentarily forgot Mace was even in the governor's race, with host Kaitlan Collins announcing she didn't see Mace's name among the top candidates, prompting John King to scroll to find her at the bottom of the results. The moment encapsulated her campaign's collapse.
Olivia Ralph ·
"We're looking at those top three people. I don't see Nancy Mace's name on that list.", CNN's Kaitlan Collins, on election night
The Daily Beast covered the moment that crystallized Mace's catastrophic gubernatorial primary: during CNN's live election-night coverage on June 10, 2026, anchor Kaitlan Collins scanned the results board and announced she couldn't find Mace's name among the leading candidates. John King had to scroll down to locate her at the bottom of the results.
CNN's coverage framed Mace's position precisely:
"Nancy Mace...the congresswoman, Trump foe, at the bottom of the pack."
The Daily Beast reported the sequence of the on-air exchange and its significance, a candidate who had spent months campaigning on her MAGA credentials had been so thoroughly forgotten by the national press corps covering the race that the primary anchor didn't think to look for her until prompted.
Mace's own concession statement pointed toward the future rather than acknowledging the scale of the defeat:
"Serving South Carolina has been the greatest honor of my life. This isn't the end of the fight."
The moment capped a campaign marked by the AI-photo controversy, ongoing litigation, and a last-place finish with 11.6 percent of the vote. Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, endorsed by Trump, and AG Alan Wilson advanced to a runoff while Mace did not.
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