By Ray Rivera, Patrick Phillips, Harve Jacobs, and Lillian Donahue | November 3, 2020 at 6:25 PM EST - Updated November 4 at 7:48 AM
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC/AP) -- Republican Nancy Mace has won the U.S. House 1st Congressional District race beating incumbent Rep. Joe Cunningham, according to the Associated Press.
Cunningham had been trailing Mace early Wednesday morning. Just before 3 a.m., Nancy Mace had 203,619 votes (51%) with Joe Cunningham garnering 192,387 votes (49%) with 95% of precincts reporting.
SCGOP Chairman Drew McKissick said “Nancy Mace proved what we already knew: the First Congressional District is a Republican district. She worked hard all the way through to the finish line and we couldn’t be more proud of what she accomplished. We’re excited to be able to send a new Nancy to Congress!”
The First Congressional District stretches from Hilton Head to Charleston.
Mace said she had seen momentum in the final stretch of her campaign and the Election Day turnout would decide whether she takes the seat in Washington.
“It’s really important that get to see voters and just thank them for being here no matter who they’re voting for today," she said earlier on Tuesday. "This is a great opportunity for everyone to have their voices heard and their voices counted.”
She had a busy day Tuesday visiting polling sites and knocking on doors. Her campaign watch party was held at Saltwater Cowboys in Mount Pleasant.
The latest Federal Election Commission filings show Mace raised just shy of $5 million, while Cunningham raised more than $6 million.
Campaign officials say Mace knocked on more than 1,000 doors this week in a final push for votes. Over the weekend, she toured the Lowcountry with U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, who won reelection against former South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Jaime Harrison.
Cunningham pulled one of the biggest upsets in 2018 when he became the first Democrat to flip a U.S. House seat from Republicans in South Carolina since 1986. National Republicans started targeting his seat just days after his election in the hopes of regaining a majority in the House.
His campaign held its watch party Tuesday night on the lawn of the Workshop on Upper King Street. The party was limited to 100 people because of COVID-19 and social distancing requirements.
Cunningham also spoke about the presidential election, calling for calm when the results are revealed.
“We’re just asking people to respect the results of the election no matter which side it falls on," he said. "Whether or not that’s Trump winning or whether or not it calls for a peaceful transfer of power to President-elect Biden. Either way it comes down we are asking people to respect those results.”
The candidates have spent a combined $10 million.
Copyright 2020 WCSC. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved.