Trump's Double Endorsement Scrambles South Carolina's GOP Gubernatorial Runoff
President Donald Trump issued a dual endorsement Friday on Truth Social, backing both South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette ahead of their Republican gubernatorial runoff — a hedge that complicates the clearest test yet of his endorsement power in 2026 primaries.
Key takeaways
- President Trump issued a dual endorsement on Truth Social Friday, backing both South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette in their Republican gubernatorial runoff.
- Trump said he could not 'hurt one of them by only Endorsing the other,' having first endorsed Evette late last month before the initial primary, where she finished first and Wilson second.
- The runoff is scheduled for Tuesday, and its winner will be the clear favorite in the general election against Democratic nominee Jermaine Johnson.
- Trump has hedged similar bets before, including the 2022 Missouri Senate primary 'ERIC' endorsement and the current Arizona 1st Congressional District race backing both Gina Swoboda and Jay Feely.
- Trump's recent primary record is mixed, with wins ousting incumbents in Indiana, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Texas, but losses in Iowa's and Georgia's gubernatorial primaries.
President Donald Trump issued a dual endorsement Friday on Truth Social, backing both South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette ahead of their Republican gubernatorial runoff — a hedge that complicates the clearest test yet of his endorsement power in 2026 primaries.
The Dual Endorsement
Trump stated he could not "hurt one of them by only Endorsing the other," adding Wilson to a list that already included Evette — a Trump-endorsed businesswoman also supported by term-limited Gov. Henry McMaster. Trump had first backed Evette late last month, a week and a half before the initial primary, in which she finished first and Wilson finished second; both advanced after no candidate cleared a majority. In the runoff, Evette has campaigned as a political outsider, while Wilson has drawn contrasts with her largely ceremonial role as lieutenant governor and highlighted his record as a combat veteran, prosecutor, and the state's top law enforcement official.
A Pattern of Hedged Bets
This is not the first time Trump has placed both names in the same race. He is already backing Gina Swoboda and Jay Feely in next month's Arizona 1st Congressional District Republican primary. The most prominent prior case came in the 2022 Missouri GOP Senate primary, where Trump endorsed "ERIC" — leaving both Eric Schmitt and Eric Greitens to claim the nod. Schmitt ultimately won the nomination. In South Carolina, Wilson has since added endorsements from Sen. Ted Cruz and from Reps. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman, who both failed to advance from the primary field that also included multimillionaire businessman Rom Reddy.
Trump's Mixed Primary Stretch
The South Carolina runoff arrives during an uneven run for Trump's endorsement record. His candidates ousted incumbents in Indiana, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Texas in recent months. But his last-minute backing of Rep. Randy Feenstra in Iowa's gubernatorial primary was not enough; Feenstra was narrowly defeated by Zach Lahn, a businessman and farmer backed by the political wings of the Make America Healthy Again movement and Turning Point USA. Trump rebounded partially last week: Rep. Barry Moore, a House Freedom Caucus member, defeated former Navy SEAL sniper Jared Hudson in Alabama's GOP Senate runoff, and Rep. Mike Collins defeated former college football coach Derek Dooley in Georgia's Republican Senate runoff following an 11th-hour Trump endorsement. Collins will face Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in the general election. The lone setback was Georgia's gubernatorial runoff, where Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones lost to outsider Rick Jackson. A Trump political operative, speaking anonymously, attributed the outcome to Jackson spending "Tom Steyer level money" in a state a fraction of California's size, and noted that Jackson "bearhugged Trump" throughout the race, making it less a referendum on the president.
South Carolina's General Election Backdrop
No Democrat has won a gubernatorial election in South Carolina in 28 years. The winner of Tuesday's runoff between Evette and Wilson enters the general election as the clear favorite against Democratic nominee Jermaine Johnson, a state representative.
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Filed by the newsroom of MarketPR on June 29, 2026. Source: foxnews.com. Indicative figures are not investment advice.