Kevin McCarthy’s first target in his revenge tour: Nancy Mace

DANIEL ISLAND, S.C. — Rep. Nancy Mace is no stranger to an intraparty battle. Now, her role in a big Republican fight last year — the ouster of Kevin McCarthy as House speaker — is complicating her primary on Tuesday.

Mace, who is both a candidate seeking her third term and her own campaign manager, has earned the ire of the highest ranks of Republicans in the few short years she’s been in Washington. In 2022, it was former President Donald Trump — though they’ve since patched things up. Then, a year later, she voted in historic fashion to boot a House speaker from her own party.

In fact, McCarthy is the first thing Mace points to when asked about the stakes of her latest political fight against a primary challenger running with McCarthy’s support.

“It’s about revenge,” Mace told NBC News in an interview at her Daniel Island campaign headquarters. “It’s also about honesty and integrity. And my vote to oust Kevin McCarthy was about trust.”

Mace says she doesn’t regret the vote.

McCarthy, for his part, has said his support of GOP candidates challenging several of “the crazy eight,” as he calls the Republicans who voted against him, has nothing to do with political vendetta. Sources close to McCarthy point out he’s limited in what he can do directly, outside of giving money and advice. His spokesperson ignored a request for an interview.

But operatives aligned with McCarthy are directing big money into these races through outside groups. Tuesday’s challenge to Mace is the first test, followed by House Freedom Caucus chair Bob Good’s primary in Virginia next week. Two other anti-McCarthy voters — Reps. Eli Crane of Arizona and Matt Gaetz of Florida — are also facing primary challengers this summer.

In South Carolina’s 1st