Trump is trying to oust one of South Carolina's rising GOP stars

She touted bipartisan legislation on veterans issues and the ban on imports of Russian oil.One subject that didn’t arise was the former president, who rallied supporters just outside Mace's district in Florence two days prior, calling Mace "crazy" and "a terrible person." Arrington described Mace as "the Liz Cheney of the South," invoking the Wyoming Republican who has become the most vocal critic of Trump in the party."I didn’t watch" the rally, Mace said in an interview following her town hall. "And I think Nancy has been a voice of reason."Arrington, in an interview from her home in Summerville, said it was Trump’s support that helped Mace defeat Democratic Rep. Joe Cunningham in 2020 by one point. Bless your heart, spend away."When Arrington decided to run again this year, she entered the race as the first Republican to lose in the district in 40 years."She’s not the best candidate by any stretch of imagination," Mulvaney, Trump’s former chief of staff who also represented South Carolina in the U.S. House, said of Arrington. This year the momentum appears to instead be boosting Republicans, and the new congressional maps in South Carolina — pending litigation — will make the 1st Congressional District lean more to the right.Democrats, meanwhile, believe an Arrington victory gives them better odds of flipping the seat this fall."Oh, I think if Arrington wins, we pick the seat back up," South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Trav Robertson said.Arrington has said her top priorities include dismantling the Department of Education, impeaching President Joe Biden and completing Trump’s border wall.