Episode Introduction
Nancy Mace joined Breaking Battlegrounds as a sitting congresswoman from South Carolina’s 1st District, four days after the director of the Secret Service resigned. She talked with Chuck Warren and Sam Stone about women’s rights, the July 2024 global IT outage, and Kimberly Cheatle’s departure.
Reason senior editor Elizabeth Nolan Brown followed. She covered Kamala Harris as the new Democratic frontrunner and how the media had covered President Biden. Peter Bernegger of Election Watch closed the guest lineup with his allegations about “ghost donors” and “smurfing” through ActBlue. Kiley’s Corner looked at what was known about the Butler gunman, and the show ended with the Sunshine Moment.
Quick Answer
Breaking Battlegrounds Podcast 200, released July 27, 2024, features Rep. Nancy Mace on women’s rights, the global IT outage, and Kimberly Cheatle’s Secret Service resignation. Reason’s Elizabeth Nolan Brown discusses Kamala Harris and media coverage of Biden. Peter Bernegger of Election Watch presents his allegations of “smurfing,” meaning donations reported in people’s names without their knowledge, through ActBlue.
Episode Overview
This episode was recorded during an unusually fast-moving stretch of the 2024 campaign. Trump had survived an assassination attempt two weeks earlier. Biden had left the race days before, and Harris had become the presumptive Democratic nominee.
Nancy Mace on the week’s news. The South Carolina congresswoman discusses women’s rights, the worldwide IT outage of July 19, 2024, and the July 23 resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle.
Elizabeth Nolan Brown on Harris and the press. The Reason senior editor examines Kamala Harris’s record and performance. She also discusses how the media covered Joe Biden before he withdrew.
Peter Bernegger on ActBlue. The president of Election Watch presents his research into what he calls “ghost donors” and “smurfing” on the Democratic fundraising platform.
Kiley’s Corner. Kiley reviews what investigators had made public about the gunman who tried to kill Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Episode details: Podcast 200 · Released July 27, 2024 · Hosts Chuck Warren and Sam Stone
About the Guests
About Nancy Mace
Nancy Mace grew up in Goose Creek, South Carolina. In 1999 she became the first woman to graduate from the Corps of Cadets at The Citadel. She wrote about that experience in In the Company of Men: A Woman at The Citadel (Simon & Schuster, 2001) and later earned a master’s degree from the University of Georgia. Before Congress, she founded a technology, marketing, and commercial real estate firm and served in the South Carolina House.
Mace has represented South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District since 2021. She ran for governor in 2026 instead of seeking reelection to the House. In the June 9 Republican primary she finished fifth with about 12% of the vote, after President Trump endorsed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette. Mace conceded and endorsed Attorney General Alan Wilson, who went on to become the Republican nominee. Her House term ends in January 2027.
About Elizabeth Nolan Brown
Elizabeth Nolan Brown was a senior editor at Reason when this episode was recorded. She has written for the magazine since 2014 and authors its Sex & Tech newsletter. Her reporting covers speech, technology, criminal justice, Section 230, and women’s rights. Her 2019 profile “Kamala Harris Is a Cop Who Wants to Be President” anticipated much of the scrutiny Harris faced in 2024. Brown co-founded the group Feminists for Liberty. Her work has also appeared in The New York Times, Politico, and the Los Angeles Times.
About Peter Bernegger
Peter Bernegger is president of Election Watch, Inc., a Wisconsin-based group that analyzes campaign finance data. His work on “smurfing” alleges that small-dollar donations were reported under the names of people who say they never made them. House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil sent referrals on smurfing to five state attorneys general in September 2024, and media coverage tied that evidence to Bernegger. Follow him on X at @PeterBernegger.
Key Topics Discussed
- Women’s rights: Mace’s priorities on the issue in summer 2024.
- The July 19 global IT outage: what a single software failure revealed about infrastructure risk.
- Kimberly Cheatle’s resignation: the Secret Service director’s exit after the Butler shooting.
- Kamala Harris’s record: Brown’s assessment as Harris became the presumptive nominee.
- Media coverage of Biden: how the press handled questions about the president before he withdrew.
- ActBlue and “smurfing”: Bernegger’s claims about donations made in unwitting donors’ names.
- The Butler gunman: Kiley’s review of what was publicly known.
Nancy Mace on Women’s Rights, the IT Outage, and Cheatle’s Resignation
Mace’s segment came at a crowded moment. The CrowdStrike software failure on July 19, 2024 had grounded flights and disrupted hospitals and banks around the world. Four days later, Kimberly Cheatle resigned as director of the Secret Service after the Butler shooting. During the Breaking Battlegrounds interview, Mace covered both stories along with her focus on women’s rights.
Her comments now read differently. Two years later, Mace staked her career on a run for governor and lost decisively. This episode records her views at the height of her national profile.
Elizabeth Nolan Brown on Kamala Harris and Media Coverage of Biden
Few journalists had examined Harris’s prosecutorial record as closely as Brown. Her 2019 Reason profile focused on Harris’s years as a district attorney and as California’s attorney general. In this conversation she discusses Harris’s performance and record as Harris moved to the top of the Democratic ticket.
Brown also takes up a question many outlets faced after Biden withdrew: whether the press had covered for him. Her perspective is libertarian rather than Republican, which makes the segment a useful counterpoint to the episode’s other guests.
Peter Bernegger on ActBlue, “Ghost Donors,” and Smurfing
“Smurfing” is Bernegger’s term for donations reported under a real person’s name when that person says they did not give the money. In this segment, he explains how Election Watch identifies these patterns in FEC data and why he believes ActBlue is the common thread.
The allegations remain disputed. Since this episode aired, they have become the subject of formal inquiries:
- In April 2025, President Trump issued a memorandum directing the Justice Department to investigate straw donor and foreign contributions through online fundraising platforms, including ActBlue.
- House committees released a third interim report on ActBlue in September 2026.
- ActBlue has consistently denied wrongdoing and calls the congressional inquiries a political stunt.
Bernegger’s claims in the episode are his own. They should be read alongside the official findings as they are released.
Kiley’s Corner: What Was Known About the Butler Gunman
Two weeks after the July 13 shooting, Kiley reviews what investigators had made public about the gunman who fired at Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. For the Secret Service side of the story, see Podcast 199, where RealClearPolitics correspondent Susan Crabtree breaks down the agency’s failures that day.
Key Takeaways From the Conversation
- Mace discussed Cheatle’s resignation days after it happened. That made her one of the first members of Congress to react on the show.
- Brown brought a libertarian journalist’s perspective to Harris’s record, separate from partisan talking points.
- Bernegger’s smurfing allegations, first aired in outlets like this one, later became part of congressional and federal inquiries into ActBlue. Those inquiries are ongoing.
- The episode captures the week the 2024 race reset, with Biden out and Harris in.
Related Breaking Battlegrounds Episodes
This episode sits in the middle of the show’s summer 2024 coverage. The week before, Podcast 199 featured Susan Crabtree on the Butler security failures and Ryan Girdusky on JD Vance. Arizona Congressman Juan Ciscomani followed up on the investigation in Podcast 201.
Harris’s record came up again soon after. Washington Post columnist Jason Willick examined it in Podcast 202. Podcast 205 asked what questions the press should be putting to her. Browse every featured guest in the Breaking Battlegrounds guest directory.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Nancy Mace discuss on Breaking Battlegrounds?
In Podcast 200, released July 27, 2024, Rep. Nancy Mace discussed women’s rights, the global IT outage of July 19, 2024, and Kimberly Cheatle’s resignation as Secret Service director. She was representing South Carolina’s 1st District at the time. It’s one of her last Breaking Battlegrounds conversations before her 2026 run for governor.
What happened in Nancy Mace’s 2026 governor race?
Mace finished fifth in South Carolina’s June 9, 2026 Republican primary for governor, with about 12% of the vote. President Trump endorsed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette before the primary. Mace conceded and endorsed Attorney General Alan Wilson, who won the nomination. Because she ran for governor, she didn’t seek reelection to the House.
What is “smurfing” in campaign finance?
“Smurfing” is a term used by Peter Bernegger and other researchers for political donations reported under a real person’s name when that person says they never made them. The allegations have centered on ActBlue. ActBlue denies wrongdoing, and the claims are the subject of congressional and federal inquiries that remain open.
Who is Elizabeth Nolan Brown?
Elizabeth Nolan Brown is a journalist who has written for Reason since 2014 and was a senior editor there when this episode aired. She covers speech, technology, criminal justice, and women’s rights. Her 2019 profile of Kamala Harris examined Harris’s record as a prosecutor. She also co-founded the group Feminists for Liberty.
When did Kimberly Cheatle resign?
Kimberly Cheatle resigned as director of the U.S. Secret Service on July 23, 2024. She stepped down ten days after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, and one day after a contentious House Oversight Committee hearing. Rep. Nancy Mace discussed the resignation in this episode four days later.
Conclusion
Podcast 200 was recorded the week the 2024 race reset. Biden was out, Harris was rising, and the Secret Service was without a director. The episode brought together a congresswoman at the peak of her national profile, a libertarian journalist who had studied Harris’s record for years, and a researcher whose donation claims later reached Congress. Two years on, it shows which stories of that summer kept growing and which careers changed course.
Related Reads
- Podcast 199: JD Vance and What Went Wrong With Trump’s Secret Service
- Podcast 201: Juan Ciscomani on the Trump Assassination Task Force
- Podcast 202: Jason Willick on Harris’ Record
- Podcast 205: Exploring Kamala Harris’ Dodged Policy Questions
Sources
- CBS News: Nancy Mace fails to advance in GOP primary for South Carolina governor
- Post and Courier: After Nancy Mace’s failed bid for SC governor, what comes next?
- States Newsroom: Secret Service director resigns (July 23, 2024)
- Campaigns & Elections: Democrats Await Findings of DOJ’s ActBlue Probe
- House Judiciary Committee: ActBlue Staff Report Part III (September 2026)
- Just the News: Jordan on the latest ActBlue report (September 2026)
- Media Matters: Republican state officials investigating ActBlue
Editorial Note: This article is intended for informational and analytical purposes. Political developments, policies, polling, and public statements can change over time. Readers should consult primary sources and official government information for the latest details.
