Politics

Nancy Mace Cosplays as a Waffle House Waitress

STRIKE A POSE

The South Carolina Republican worked at the chain as a teenager.

Nancy Mace wearing a Waffle House paper cap.
X/Nancy Mace

South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace dressed up as a Waffle House worker as part of her campaign to become the state’s next governor.

MAGA lawmaker Mace posted an image of herself wearing a black-and-yellow Waffle House paper cap on social media while promoting her bid to replace term-limited Gov. Henry McMaster in 2026.

“As a high school dropout turned Waffle House waitress, we know firsthand education isn’t one-size-fits-all,” Mace wrote. “As governor, we will fight to EXPAND school choice because parents have the right to decide which school is best for their children. Every child deserves the opportunity to succeed.”

Nancy Mace, R-S.C., leaves the U.S. Capitol after the last votes before August recess on Wednesday, July 23, 2025.
Nancy Mace describes her job at a Waffle House as “an early setback” on the congressional profile on her website. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

This is not the first time Mace has referenced her previous employment at a Waffle House, which followed her dropping out of high school.

Mace, who also loves to take photos outside public bathrooms as part of her campaign against trans women, made sure to visit a Waffle House during an attention-grabbing road trip from South Carolina to Washington, D.C., to vote for Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful” spending bill. Her flights to the capital had been canceled.

Wearing pink and white pajamas for the roughly eight-hour drive, Mace went on a furious posting spree documenting her journey to Washington, which included an early-morning photo op with staff at a Waffle House.

“From one Waffle House waitress to another, thank you for showing up, working hard, and keeping the coffee hot,” Mace posted in July while still in her pajamas. “We haven’t forgotten where we came from. On to D.C. to vote for the Big, Beautiful Bill.”

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) speaks to the media outside the Thomas P. O'Neil Jr. House Office Building on February 28, 2024 in Washington DC.
Nancy Mace announced her bid for South Carolina governor in August. Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Congressional Integrity Project

Mace ignored the backlash over the road-trip stunt, but did take time to share a response from her communications director, Sydney Long, who called out the Daily Beast for misidentifying the pattern on Mace’s pajamas as polka dots rather than pink hearts.

A poll conducted between late September and early October found that South Carolina Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette (19.9 percent) is leading Mace (15.8 percent) in the race to become the next Republican candidate for governor.

The Trafalgar Group survey of 1,094 likely Republican voters found that more than 41 percent are still undecided about whom to support.

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