Trump Conservative retired Air Force colonel enters 2026 congressional race

EXCLUSIVE: A retired U.S. Air Force colonel who commanded the final American evacuation flights out of Afghanistan four years ago on Monday launched a Republican campaign in South Carolina’s First Congressional District.

Alex Pelbath, who describes himself as a “Trump Conservative,” is running in the 2026 race to succeed three-term GOP Rep. Nancy Mace, who is bidding for governor rather than seek re-election in the right-leaning coastal district in South Carolina’s Lowcountry.

“In combat, mission is everything. My mission is clear: provide President Trump the reinforcements he needs, deliver leadership that makes the Lowcountry proud, and bring an outsider’s perspective to Washington,” Pelbath said in a statement shared nationally first with Fox News Digital.

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Pelbath spent 22 years in the Air Force, flying over 4,000 hours—including more than 1,000 in combat.

During the much-maligned U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan during former President Biden’s first year in the White House, Pelbath served as Air Mission Commander for the final evacuation from Kabul, overseeing all aircraft involved. And he personally flew the last American plane out of Afghanistan.

“I was the last one out. But the mission’s not over,” Pelbath said in his statement and an accompanying video.

The release from Pelbath’s campaign highlighted that he helped shape two defense budgets and advised the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during his service at the Pentagon.

“I witnessed the devastation caused by career politicians’ weak leadership,” Pelbath argued in a statement. “I never planned to run for Congress, but I can’t stand by while Washington puts politics before the mission. America needs leaders who will stand with President Trump and deliver on his effort to Make America Great Again—by ending the flow of illegal immigrants, stopping the woke nonsense in our schools and military, and fighting for an economy that works for Lowcountry families.”

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Pelbath, a U.S. Air Force Academy graduate, lives in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina with his wife and their two children. 

He becomes the second Republican candidate to jump into the race, following businessman and politician Marvin “Mark” Smith, a state lawmaker in the South Carolina House from the 99th District.

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Mace, who was first elected to the district in 2020, is one of five major candidates running for the GOP gubernatorial nomination in the race to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Henry McMaster, who is the Palmetto State’s longest-serving governor.

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, Rep. Ralph Norman, and state Sen. Josh Kimbrell are also seeking the Republican gubernatorial nomination in the reliably red state.