Republican South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace’s former chief of staff is being propped up by her own ex-staffers as he mulls a primary challenge against her, two sources told Fox News Digital.
Dan Hanlon joined Mace’s office in 2021 after serving in the Trump administration’s Office of Management and Budget. He departed last month under reportedly contentious circumstances.
A source familiar with his plans told Fox News Digital that Hanlon was being approached about a possible run for Mace’s seat, and two sources said that multiple former staffers were informally aiding Hanlon in some capacity.
The source said at least one is a former communications director for Mace who is now helping Hanlon and said "there are many" ex-staffers of hers in his position.
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"I along with several other former staff are backing Hanlon in some sort of way," the second source said.
"Dan is receiving great feedback because for years he did the actual job of serving the constituents of South Carolina in Congress while Nancy Mace was busy going on TV and getting her net worth up millions," the first source familiar with Hanlon’s plans said. "Both the donor class and grassroots voters are tired of Mace privately bashing Trump and publicly bashing real conservatives as a--holes."
Hanlon’s potential primary challenge was first reported in Politico earlier this week.
Fox News Digital on Thursday asked Mace about those reports on Capitol Hill. She said, "I believe we put a statement out. He’s going to have to move to the district if he has to run."
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When reached for comment, Doug Stafford, a spokesman for Mace's re-election campaign, told Fox News Digital, "This can’t be true. Mace couldn’t get this lucky? Well, would he move there, 'cause he sure as s--- doesn’t live there now!"
The source familiar with Hanlon’s plans responded to her accusation about his living outside the district: "Dan owns a home in the district. Rep. Mace had her ex-fiancé buy her one."
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Mace’s former staffers coalescing around her former top aide comes after several reports of a toxic workplace culture in her office. She has seen a slew of staff departures in recent months in addition to Hanlon’s.
Mace was accused of making lewd comments in the office by three sources who spoke anonymously with the Daily Mail in December.
A Daily Beast report in November claimed Mace had a "handbook" for staffers that allegedly said, among other things, that her office must send out at least one press release per day and put her on TV at least nine times per week.
Mace told Fox News Digital during a Nov. 3 interview that she had not read the report, and shrugged off its accusations.
