Jordan Pace is an extremely far-right politician known in the State House as “Pinocchio Pace” for his habit of exaggerating—or minimizing—what happens in Columbia to push his cultural agenda. He chairs South Carolina’s “Freedom Caucus,” a group of 14 lawmakers who work to pass extreme bills and amendments, often at the expense of commonsense governance.

Pace believes that women and children should be forced to have children conceived by rape and incest. Pace also believes that if a woman has an abortion, she should be subject to the death penalty, as well as her medical provider. 

Pace has openly advocated for deregulating education—allowing unlicensed teachers– forcing children to follow Christian school lessons, and suggesting that educational facilities, as well as childcare providers, only need a fire sprinkler system to be considered safe. He has even openly supported public executions. He filed a bill to execute child molesters, despite research showing capital punishment can endanger victims’ lives. Offenders have openly stated that if capital punishment were on the line, they would not stop molesting children; they would molest and then kill them. Ironically, Pace protected convicted child predator RJ May, refusing to cooperate with investigators or provide records about his and the “Freedom Caucus” involvement.

Pace also inflates his resume, calling himself a “former teacher” despite never being licensed. He is widely regarded as the most extreme member of the State House, spending floor time on LGBTQ issues, abortion bans, and limiting free speech at universities and libraries—while ignoring the real challenges families face, like rising costs of living.

His proudest moment in office appears to be a Donald Trump re-tweet of his call to defund Clemson University over political disagreements, which he has pursued more vigorously than any meaningful legislation that would benefit his district. Pace has proposed no significant bills that have become law in his four years in office.

Pace’s extreme ideology also extends to religion: he presents as a Christian nationalist, believing his faith is the only true faith and aiming to erase other religions in the U.S. His time in office puts all residents of District 117 at risk.

Pace’s election was aided by gerrymandering—he has admitted district lines were redrawn to favor conservative candidates—and he ran unopposed in 2024, calling it a “win.” This year, District 117 has a chance to reject extremism.

Vote for Ashley Painter on November 3, 2026.
Even if you do not vote Democrat, you can stop Pace: skip his name and vote in other races. If you care about women, children, religion, and humanity, you owe it to your district and your state to prevent Pace from serving another term.