Nancy Mace, Katie Arrington agree on ‘unity’ after heated primary duel for

Two days after Republican U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace won her South Carolina GOP primary, she stopped and paused on her way to the stage, embracing Katie Arrington, the woman who for months fought to defeat her.

The pair who had called themselves fighters during the campaign called a truce in the political war between them, holding each other close in front of hundreds of applauding Republicans at the Harbour Club in downtown Charleston.

Seconds ticked by. Arrington said something in Mace’s ear. Mace said something back. The audience, which was on its feet, continued to cheer.

The election was now officially over. Mace had defeated Arrington by nearly 9 points. And for South Carolina Republicans in the state’s 1st Congressional District, it was time on June 16 to unify behind their party’s nominee.

“It’s really simple: When Republicans unify, there’s no way a Democrat can win,” Arrington said, stressing “and we have to unify. And I know that may be hard right now. But guys, one team, one fight. Let’s remember that.” 

Mace will face Democrat Annie Andrews, a Charleston pediatrician, in November. Already, the fight for the 1st District is underway.

At the same time Mace and Arrington urged their party to unite, Andrews was holding a meet-and-greet at a brewery on Daniel Island. The post-primary GOP unity event, which was hosted by the S.C. Republican Party, had been in the works for about a month, said state party Chairman Drew McKissick.

That it happened so soon after the election was intentional.

“When you have a primary, you want to come together as quick as you can and get everybody behind what we’re supposed to be doing, which is all battling in the same direction to win in November,” McKissick said in an interview.

Asked whether a similar unity event will be held in the 7th Congressional District, where incumbent U.S. Rep. Tom Rice lost his GOP primary to state Rep. Russell Fry, McKissick replied: “possibly.”

“We need this,” Mace said of the unity event, which was not held after she won the GOP nomination in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic that halted large, in-person events.

“Because what Joe Biden, and Nancy Pelosi, and Chuck Schumer are doing to our nation and its children is insanity,” she continued. “And the Democrats think that Charleston is the political battleground for 2022. We need to unite tonight and show them it is (their) political burial ground in November. And it starts right here, tonight, in the 1st Congressional District.”

Arrington also sought to rally the crowd, referring to Biden as “Brandon,” and calling Andrews “crazy little Annie.”

Ingrid Centurion, who ultimately dropped out early in the 1st District GOP primary and endorsed Arrington, was in the audience, as was Lynz Piper-Loomis, who famously quit the GOP race and endorsed Arrington before walking off a Charleston debate stage. 

“It’s time to come together,” said Centurion, who also said she planned to give Mace “a big old hug” before the night was…