Incumbent U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R) won the Republican primary election for South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District on June 11, 2024. Mace received 56.8% of the vote. Catherine Templeton (R) finished in second with 29.8%, and Bill Young (R) finished in third with 13.4%.

According to The Post and Courier, South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District was considered “the most moderate of South Carolina’s six Republican-held congressional districts, covering a geographic area that stretches from greater Charleston to Hilton Head Island.”In 2020, Mace defeated then-Incumbent U.S. Rep. Joe Cunningham (D) after the district was redrawn following redistricting and won re-election in 2022.

As of May 22, 2024, Mace led the field in campaign spending with $1.7 million, followed by Templteton ($407,104) and Young ($8,559).

Mace said she believed inflation, abortion, and immigration were the three most important issues for voters in the district. Mace said she would work to reduce taxes, increase domestic energy production, ensure women’s access to all forms of contraception without a doctor’s visit, and reduce immigration through the U.S.-Mexico border. Mace described herself as unafraid to cross party lines, referring to her support of abortion and her vote to remove former Speaker of the U.S. House Kevin McCarthy (R). Mace said, “I would say I’m not your typical conservative because when I agree with my party, I support them, and when I disagree, I call my party out, and I do it over and over again.” Former President Donald Trump (R) and Speaker of the U.S. House Mike Johnson (R) endorsed Mace.

Templeton said she supported America First policies, a term often associated with the platform of former President Trump and candidates who say they support his platform. Templeton said she would focus on building a border wall at the U.S.-Mexico border, shifting American supply chains to be more dependent on domestic labor, and reducing inflation and government spending. Templeton said her experience as South Carolina’s director of labor, licensing, and regulation from 2011-2012 uniquely qualified her for Congress because it demonstrated her experience reducing government spending and limiting immigration. Templeton said, “I was in Columbia busting bureaucracy. We killed about $68 million in waste in 18 months – reduced bureaucracy by 20%. At the time, I was credited with writing the toughest immigration law in the nation.”

Young completed Ballotpedia’s candidate connection survey. In it, Young said his primary campaign messages were limiting immigration through the U.S.-Mexico border, improving veteran services, supporting the military with long-term foreign policy plans, and advocating for fiscal responsibility. Young said his military experience would help him work on issues affecting military veterans. Young said, “Being a Marine veteran, I’m uniquely qualified to help our veterans, to listen to them, and talk to them every day. They are a huge population in our district, and they are an underserved community.”