SouthernWorldwide.com – The influence of former President Donald Trump’s endorsements is once again being put to the test in South Carolina’s Republican Party primaries, just a week after his streak of successful endorsements in high-profile races was broken.
While Trump’s favored candidate for the South Carolina GOP gubernatorial primary, Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette, secured one of the two spots in the race for the nomination, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson also advanced.
According to the Associated Press, both Evette and Wilson will now proceed to a Republican runoff election in two weeks. This runoff will determine who will succeed the term-limited Republican Governor Henry McMaster.
As no candidate was projected to secure over 50% of the primary vote to win outright, the top two vote-getters will advance to the June 23 Republican runoff. The victor of this runoff is expected to be the strong favorite in the general election in the reliably Republican southeastern state.
Even though he was not on the ballot, Trump’s significant sway within the GOP is facing another scrutiny in South Carolina.
The potent impact of the former president’s endorsement power has been evident in Republican primaries over the past month. His chosen candidates have successfully unseated incumbents he targeted in notable showdowns across Indiana, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Texas, which garnered considerable national attention.
However, Trump’s last-minute endorsement of Republican Representative Randy Feenstra of Iowa, made just a week and a half prior – on the same day he also backed Evette – for the race to succeed retiring Republican Governor Kim Reynolds, was not enough to secure victory for the three-term congressman.
TRUMP-ENDORSED FEENSTRA CONCEDES TO MAHA-BACKED LAHN IN GOP GOVERNOR PRIMARY UPSET
Feenstra was narrowly defeated by Zach Lahn, a businessman, farmer, and former political strategist. Lahn received support from the political factions of MAHA, which stands for the Make America Healthy Again movement associated with Trump’s former Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Turning Point USA, a prominent conservative organization co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk.
In the South Carolina Republican gubernatorial primary, the main contenders had been actively emphasizing their support for Trump and his policy agenda, hoping to earn his endorsement.
Trump, after maintaining neutrality for several months, ultimately endorsed Evette, describing her in his announcement as an “America First Patriot” and a “WINNER.”
Following Trump’s endorsement of Evette, Representative Nancy Mace suggested that her outspoken advocacy last year for the Justice Department to release files related to the investigation of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein may have contributed to the former president backing her rival.
“I know I put the likelihood of an endorsement on the line when I demanded transparency on the Epstein files,” Mace stated. “I demanded it because you deserved the truth — ALL OF IT,” she emphasized in a post on X.
In a social media post endorsing Evette, Trump also indicated his expectation that Evette would select Henry McMaster Jr., the governor’s son, as her running mate for lieutenant governor.
This comment from the former president generated considerable backlash within South Carolina’s political circles. It also fueled speculation that Governor McMaster, who took over from then-Governor Nikki Haley when she resigned to serve as U.N. ambassador during Trump’s first term and is now in his tenth year as governor, might be attempting to advance his son’s political career.
However, McMaster denied any such arrangement or pressure. Evette also stated that she would not choose any running mate until after the primary had concluded.
On Friday, the younger McMaster withdrew his name from consideration. He described the mention as a “incredibly humbling” possibility for a lieutenant governor candidate, but added that “now is simply not the right time.”
The winner of the Republican gubernatorial nomination is anticipated to be the clear frontrunner in the November general election in South Carolina.
State Representative Jermaine Johnson, trial attorney William Mullins McLeod Jr. (who was a gubernatorial candidate in 2010), and businessman Billy Webster (who previously served as chief of staff to former Democratic Governor Richard Riley) are all vying for their party’s nomination.
