President Donald Trump is now throwing his support behind both of the remaining Republicans in the South Carolina governor’s race as he seeks to avoid the possibility of another primary setback this month.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Trump had endorsed Lt.Gov.
Pamela Evette in late May, less than two weeks before the initial South Carolina primary.But in a Truth Social post Friday, Trump said he is also backing Attorney General Alan Wilson in Tuesday’s GOP runoff, saying the two rivals are “MAGA and America First all the way!”“I can’t hurt one of them by only Endorsing the other, so, therefore, I am going to Endorse, for Governor of South Carolina, both Pam Evette and Alan Wilson!” Trump wrote.
“It’s a Wealth of Riches — With either one you can’t go wrong.”Evette finished in first place in the June 9 primary, which went to a runoff after no candidate in the crowded field won majority support.But she earned less than 30% of the vote and ran only 3 points ahead of Wilson, despite securing Trump’s coveted endorsement.
In the days since the primary, Wilson also picked up endorsements from two former opponents in the race, Reps.Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman.Shortly after Trump’s announcement Sen.
Tim Scott, R-S.C., also endorsed Wilson.Trump’s move in South Carolina comes after he suffered rare defeats in two other gubernatorial primaries in recent weeks.In Iowa, Rep.
Randy Feenstra — who won Trump’s endorsement the same day as Evette — was narrowly defeated in the June 2 GOP primary for governor by Zach Lahn, a businessman who aligned himself with the “Make America Healthy Again” movement.When asked about that outcome last week, Trump suggested he wasn’t given the “proper information,” saying that “the other person was much more Trump” than Feenstra.And earlier this week, billionaire Rick Jackson won the Republican primary runoff in the Georgia ...