Story Highlights
- Trump endorsed both Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and Attorney General Alan Wilson in a Truth Social post on Friday
- The dual endorsement came after Trump-backed candidates lost in Iowa and Georgia gubernatorial primaries earlier this month
- Momentum in the race was seen favoring Wilson despite Evette holding Trump’s original sole endorsement
What Happened
President Donald Trump threw his support behind both candidates in the Tuesday runoff, telling voters in a social media post “you can’t go wrong” with either Lt. Gov. Pam Evette — whom he endorsed in the GOP primary in May — or state Attorney General Alan Wilson. The shift came just days before voters headed to the polls and broke from Trump’s typical pattern of backing a single chosen candidate.
In a Truth Social post Friday night, Trump wrote: “There are two Highly Respected Candidates running to be your next Governor in the June 23rd Republican Runoff Election, your current Lieutenant Governor, Pam Evette, and your current Attorney General, Alan Wilson. Both have had amazing careers, and have been with me from the beginning. They 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!”
After recent losses by other candidates he backed, Trump on Friday offered a dual endorsement of South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and Attorney General Alan Wilson, saying “With either one you can’t go wrong.” Just three weeks earlier, ahead of the June 9 primary, he had backed solely Evette in a crowded field.
The South Carolina runoff had been viewed as the latest test of Trump’s immense grip over the GOP and the power of his endorsements in Republican nominating contests. Rep. Nancy Mace, reacting to Trump’s endorsement of both Evette and Wilson, wrote on social media, “LMAO.”
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. 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 picked up endorsements from two former opponents in the race, Reps. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman.
Why It Matters
Presidential endorsements in Republican primaries have been among Trump’s most powerful political tools since he returned to office. The ability to effectively anoint candidates has given him leverage over the party apparatus, shaped the ideological composition of congressional delegations, and reinforced his dominance over the grassroots base. A pattern of high-profile endorsement failures threatens that leverage precisely as the midterm election cycle accelerates.
The presidential pivot in South Carolina comes after two of his endorsed candidates lost in recent primaries. 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, Trump suggested he wasn’t given the “proper information,” saying that “the other person was much more Trump” than Feenstra. Then healthcare executive Rick Jackson won the Republican primary runoff in the Georgia governor’s race over Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones.
The South Carolina race also illustrates a broader dynamic within the Republican Party: Trump’s endorsement alone may no longer be sufficient to carry a candidate in competitive statewide races where voters are evaluating policy records, retail political skills, and institutional support networks. Other factors — including endorsements from sitting senators, former congressional colleagues, and the MAHA movement — are now competing with the presidential seal of approval.
Candidates themselves are becoming more confident in running competitive campaigns even when they lack Trump’s backing, a shift that could gradually erode the fear-based compliance that has historically kept Republican officeholders aligned with the president’s preferences. That evolution has significant implications for the administration’s ability to push its legislative agenda through Congress.
Economic and Global Context
Gubernatorial races have substantial economic consequences. South Carolina is a manufacturing and logistics hub with major exposure to federal trade policy through its BMW production plants, Boeing facilities, and port operations in Charleston. The next governor will manage the state’s response to federal tariff structures, workforce development programs, and infrastructure investment — all areas where Trump’s second-term policies have direct financial impact on the state’s businesses and workers.
South Carolina’s economy has benefited from strong foreign direct investment flows, particularly from European automakers drawn by the state’s business-friendly regulatory climate. Any shift in the state’s posture toward federal trade policy — depending on who wins — could affect negotiations over plant expansions and job retention. The governor also controls significant levers over state tax policy, which interacts with federal business incentives introduced under Trump’s second-term agenda.
The race is also a barometer for the political health of Republican governors across the South, a region where the party dominates but where internal divisions over MAGA orthodoxy, fiscal policy, and social issues are becoming more visible. How the South Carolina electorate responds to competing MAGA credentials will be studied by political operatives preparing for Senate and House midterm races across the region.
Implications
Whatever the outcome tonight, the dual endorsement strategy hands Trump a guaranteed political win in South Carolina — he will be able to claim the victory regardless of who prevails. But the manner in which he arrived at that position has invited scrutiny from political insiders and rivals who see it as an acknowledgment of weakness rather than magnanimity.
Political observers in South Carolina noted that Evette’s chief distinction from Wilson was that Trump endorsed her. Even before Trump’s dual endorsement, she trailed in limited public polling and was seen as a weak candidate with little to show besides the president’s coveted endorsement.
For Republican candidates in future primaries, the episode sends a complex message: Trump’s endorsement remains valuable but is no longer unconditional. The president has shown he will protect his record over loyalty to a previously chosen candidate, recalibrating in real time when political winds shift. That flexibility may make future endorsements feel more transactional to the candidates who receive them.
For the broader Republican Party, the test of Trump’s endorsement power will continue through the November midterms. Congressional primaries in competitive districts will be the next proving ground, and the results from Iowa, Georgia, and South Carolina will inform how aggressively Trump’s political operation chooses to spend its capital in those races.
Sources
“Trump endorses a second candidate in the South Carolina governor’s race”Â
