A Republican primary challenger to South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham briefly re-tweeted a message on Tuesday referring to the Republican lawmaker as “Nancy boy Graham.”
The original message was written by someone else, but Mace – who tweets at the handle @nancymace – retweeted it to her followers.
The message read: “RT @PaulSteel4: @nancymace we support you here in Florida . Nancy Mace vs Nancy boy graham.”
Mace deleted it after 10 minutes, according to Politwoops, the Sunlight Foundation project that reveals the deleted tweets of politicians.
“Nancy boy” is a derogatory phrase used to describe effeminate men.
Graham is actually a United States Air Force veteran who serves in the South Carolina Air National Guard reserves.
Mace, who entered the GOP race against Graham last week, is a small business owner who happens to also be the first woman to graduate from The Citadel.