Mount Pleasant Magazine Sept/Oct 2020

20 www.ReadMPM.com | www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.VOICEforMP.com T his year’s election ballot pits incumbent Joe Cunningham against District 99 State Rep. Nancy Mace. Both accomplished in their own rights, this much-anticipated race will take center stage in the Lowcountry, a place each candidate is proud to call home. A former attorney and ocean engineer, Cunningham enjoys showing his young son, Boone, the benefits of coastal living. “What I love about Charleston is that you can enjoy the outdoors all year-round,” he said. The youngest of five brothers, Cunningham credited his dad for instilling in him at a young age how important it is to take care of one another. “My dad was a public servant for decades and really showed me how having good people in leadership can make a difference in people’s lives.” Politics was not necessarily Cunningham’s goal — that is, until the 2016 election. “I had never planned on running for an office until then. I was worried about the direction our country was going and what kind of a world we were leaving behind for our children, and I realized that I just couldn’t sit on the sidelines anymore,” he said. Single mom Nancy Mace highlighted her two children as the inspiration for everything she does. Her father is a retired Army general, and her mother is a retired schoolteacher. Mace grew up in Goose Creek, graduated magna cum laude from The Citadel, authored a book, BY PAMELA JOUAN Defining Roles NancyMace and Joe Cunningham Face Off as Candidates