Trump backs both horses in South Carolina as governor races emerge as endorsement weak point
President Donald Trump is adopting a new strategy in South Carolina’s gubernatorial races after experiencing setbacks in other primaries. Rather of endorsing just one candidate,he issued a rare dual endorsement for Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and attorney General Alan Wilson, who are competing in a runoff. Trump’s decision aims to secure a favorable outcome nonetheless of who wins, as both candidates are strong Trump allies with deep Republican ties. Earlier, Trump supported Burt Jones in Georgia and Randy Feenstra in Iowa, but both lost their primaries, raising concerns about his influence in gubernatorial races compared to Senate races, where his endorsed candidates have performed well. The South Carolina runoff is crucial sence the winner will face Democrat Jermaine Johnson in November; the state has historically favorited Republican candidates for governor.
After high-profile losses for candidates backed by President Donald Trump in gubernatorial Republican primaries, the president is taking a new approach in South Carolina: Endorse both candidates.
Trump issued a rare dual endorsement for Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and Attorney General Alan Wilson, who are facing off in the GOP primary runoff on Tuesday, a strategic move by the president as governor’s races have emerged as a weak point for his political operation.
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The president had backed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in Georgia’s gubernatorial race, but Jones ultimately lost in a runoff to healthcare tycoon Rick Jackson. In Iowa, the president’s pick for the governor’s office, Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-IA), lost his primary.
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The election results in Georgia and Iowa sounded alarm bells as to whether Trump’s influence carries the same weight in gubernatorial races as it does in Senate races. A Trump-backed candidate has yet to fall short in Republican Senate primaries.
After Georgia and Iowa, Trump isn’t taking another risk in South Carolina. By backing both Wilson and Evette, Trump can claim victory no matter who wins Tuesday’s runoff.
Evette was the first candidate to be endorsed by Trump, giving her one of the most coveted assets in Republican politics. But later, he expanded his support to Wilson as the race tightened following a primary election in which neither candidate secured a majority of the vote.
Evette led the field in the primary with 28.9% of the vote, followed by Wilson with 26.1%. Since then, Wilson has emerged with a clear lead ahead of Evette.
The president said he couldn’t pick between the two “highly respected” candidates in the Palmetto State, saying that a vote for either Republican in the runoff would be a win for the state.
South Carolina’s runoff represents a different kind of test. Both Evette and Wilson have deep GOP ties and have run as staunch Trump allies. Evette has leaned on her role in Gov. Henry McMaster’s (R-SC) administration and his backing as she seeks to succeed the term-limited governor.
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Wilson, a four-term attorney general and adopted son of Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), has emphasized his record of fighting policies imposed by former President Joe Biden and spearheading legislation combating human trafficking.
The winner will face Democrat Jermaine Johnson in November. South Carolina has not elected a Democrat for governor since the 1990s, making the Republican nomination the central contest in the race.
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