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One week after President Donald Trump’s endorsement-winning streak in high-profile Republican primaries was snapped, the president’s immense clout over his party is facing another key test in South Carolina’s GOP gubernatorial nomination face-off.
A week and a half ago, the president handed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette 11th-hour support as she seeks to succeed a top Trump ally, term-limited Republican Gov. Henry McMaster.
Evette is facing off in the GOP primary against a handful of top rivals. They are longtime South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, Reps. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman, and multimillionaire businessman Rom Reddy.
Since no candidate was expected to top 50% of the primary vote and land a majority, the top two finishers will advance to the June 23 Republican runoff.
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The brute force of the president’s endorsement power has been on display in GOP primaries over the past month, with his candidates ousting incumbents he targeted in showdowns in Indiana, Louisiana, Kentucky and Texas that grabbed plenty of national attention.
But Trump’s last-minute endorsement of Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa in the race to succeed retiring GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds — which came on the same day he also backed Evette — wasn’t enough to muscle the three-term congressman to victory.
Feenstra was narrowly edged out by Zach Lahn, a businessman, farmer and former political strategist who was backed by the political wings of MAHA — the acronym for the Make America Healthy Again movement aligned with Trump Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — and Turning Point USA, the powerful conservative organization co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk.
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In the South Carolina GOP gubernatorial primary, the major contenders had long been highlighting their support for Trump and his agenda in hopes of landing his support.
Trump, after staying neutral for months, endorsed Evette, praising her as an “America First Patriot” and a “WINNER” in his announcement.
The president also headlined a tele-rally for Evette on the eve of the primary.
Hours later, on the morning of the primary, Evette once again spotlighted the president’s backing of her campaign.
In a social media post, she wrote that Trump “needs a strong partner as Governor who will deliver on our conservative America First agenda. It’s why he gave me his ‘complete and total endorsement.’ Don’t let President Trump down. Get to the polls, bring your friends & family, and VOTE EVETTE!”
But Trump, in a social media post endorsing Evette, also said he expected Evette to choose Henry McMaster Jr., the governor’s son, as her running mate for lieutenant governor.
The comment by the president led to blowback in South Carolina political circles and speculation that McMaster, who succeeded then-Gov. Nikki Haley when she stepped down to serve as U.N. ambassador during Trump’s first term and who is in his 10th year as governor, was trying to give his son a political boost.
But McMaster denied any deal or pressure, and Evette has said she wouldn’t name any running mate until after the primary is over.
And on Friday, the younger McMaster took his name out of contention, saying it was “incredibly humbling” to be mentioned as a possible lieutenant governor candidate, but that “now is simply not the right time.”
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Pointing to what he said was a smaller-than-expected bounce in the polls for Evette, longtime South Carolina political strategist Dave Wilson told Fox News Digital he thinks the Trump endorsement “backfired” because of the president’s push for the younger McMaster to join the Evette ticket.
“In South Carolina, we really don’t take it very well when Washington tries to tell us what to do,” Wilson emphasized.
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