NEW: Top GOP Rep. Launches Run For Governor In Deep Red State

A firebrand conservative in the U.S. House launched her bid for governor on Monday, throwing her hat into a crowded ring to replace term-limited South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster.

Congresswoman Nancy Mace (R-SC), who carries a large national following, shook the contours of next year’s race with news that she plans to run.

“I’m running to put South Carolina first,” the three-term lawmaker said in a statement, arguing “we can continue doing the things we’ve always done” and elect “weak leadership” in the state’s corner office, a dig at McMaster.

“Or we can chart a new course – one filled with common sense and bold policies to hold the line for South Carolina,” she emphasized.

Mace, 47, launched her campaign with a 10-point platform she stressed will provide “a clear, conservative, common-sense roadmap to rebuild South Carolina from the ground up.” She followed up on her announcement with a later appearance in Charleston at the Citadel, a military academy, where she expounded on her campaign policy proposals.

“This morning I’m making it official,” she told supporters. “I’m running for governor because South Carolina doesn’t need another empty suit.”

McMaster, 78, is bowing out as South Carolina’s longest-serving governor, and Mace enters an already crowded field to replace him. Also vying for the seat are South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and state Sen. Josh Kimbrell, all Republicans.

In addition, GOP Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) announced his entrance into the race just a week earlier.

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Before announcing her campaign, Mace told Fox News, “We’re starting out front, in the lead, and it’s a two-man race” between herself and Norman.

And she pledged that “I will fight to the finish, and I will take out South Carolina’s Attorney General, because he’s turned a blind eye on women and on children and on the state for a lot of reasons. He might force me to do this.”

The race will be personal for Mace, who plans to target Wilson for allegedly ignoring her pleas to investigate a sexual assault she suffered years ago. Mace accused her ex-fiancé and several other men of assaulting her and three other women, crimes she claims were ignored by the Republican state attorney general.

Wilson responded with denial, stating “that allegation was never made to me — no one in my office.”

One week earlier, Wilson told Fox, “Nancy Mace is a liar who will do anything to get attention to distract from her liberal voting record. I’ve served our country and dedicated my civilian career to protecting children.”

“Her attacks are, again, categorically false and are just a distraction from her liberal agenda,” he added. “South Carolina families need a Governor who will fight for our values, not someone who will compromise them for political gain and social media clicks.”