Sarah McBride gets last laugh after Nancy Mace’s devastating election loss: ‘Happy Pride, Nancy’

U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride didn't have much to say about Rep. Nancy Mace's humiliating defeat in South Carolina's Republican gubernatorial primary.

Three words, in fact. "Happy Pride, Nancy."

The line brought hundreds of LGBTQ+ activists, elected officials, donors, and allies to their feet Tuesday evening at Equality PAC's National Pride Gala in Washington, D.C., where McBride appeared to relish a rare political role reversal.

For much of the last two years, Mace has made McBride a frequent target, repeatedly invoking the Delaware Democratic congresswoman in speeches, interviews, social media posts, and legislative fights over transgender rights. Since McBride became the first out trans member of Congress in January 2025, Mace has emerged as one of the most visible anti-trans voices on Capitol Hill, championing efforts to restrict transgender people's access to bathrooms and other gendered facilities in federal buildings. Mace at one point even chased a woman she thought was McBride into a Capitol restroom, only to discover that it was a cisgender colleague.

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Related: Nancy Mace said she was 'pro-transgender rights' just last year: 'It's your body, your choice'

Related: Lauren Boebert & Nancy Mace confront woman they thought was trans in ‘predictable’ Capitol bathroom incident

But on Tuesday, it was McBride delivering the punchline.

"Today is a big day because today is the South Carolina Republican gubernatorial primary," McBride told the gala crowd. "And for those of you who aren't aware, my colleague and Congress's top bathroom sheriff, Nancy Mace, is on the ballot."

The audience laughed and applauded.

"And while not all of the votes have been counted yet, she is in a respectful fifth place," McBride continued. "I don't like punching down, and I believe in the politics of grace. So all I will say is happy Pride, Nancy."

The room at the Mellon Auditorium erupted with schadenfreude.

Attendees who had loudly booed when Mace's name was first mentioned rose to their feet in a standing ovation as McBride smiled and continued her remarks.

The reaction came shortly after South Carolina Republicans delivered a devastating blow to Mace's political ambitions. Once considered a rising star within the GOP and a potential future governor or senator, Mace finished a distant fifth in the state's Republican gubernatorial primary after a campaign marked by controversy, feuds with fellow Republicans, and an unsuccessful effort to secure President Donald Trump's endorsement.

The moment was notable in part because McBride has generally declined to respond to Mace in kind. In an interview with The Advocate in November, McBride acknowledged that some LGBTQ+ people wished she would engage more directly with her critics, but said that "leadership requires us to do things that aren't easy." She argued that the country was experiencing a period of "cruelty and cultural regression" and said her goal was to meet attacks on transgender people with persuasion rather than outrage.

"I understand the desire to speak with the same tenor and volume and emotion that our opponents do," McBride told The Advocate at the time. "But if we're trying to persuade people, if we're trying to win over people, if we're trying to lower the temperature and move forward, I don't think we can afford to simply mirror the approach of our opponents."

Over the past two years, she became one of the Republican Party's most recognizable figures through a relentless media presence and increasingly aggressive attacks on transgender rights.

Her targeting of McBride became a recurring feature of that strategy.

Mace’s defeat quickly spread online, where social media users drew comparisons between Mace and anti-trans activist Riley Gaines.

Gaines built a national following after tying for fifth place in a collegiate swimming competition that included transgender swimmer Lia Thomas. Critics have long argued that Gaines turned the result of losing to four cisgender women into a political movement and media career centered on opposing transgender inclusion in sports.

Before McBride took the stage, she appeared to embrace the comparison. She reposted a viral message that read, "Conservative woman who placed 5th,” above images of Mace and Gaines.

McBride added a brief comment of her own, reposting the message with "thoughts and prayers."