One week after President Donald Trump’s endorsement-winning streak was snapped, his clout is tested again in Tuesday’s GOP gubernatorial primary in South Carolina—where Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette seeks to succeed term-limited Gov. Henry McMaster amid a crowded fie
The question hung over South Carolina’s Republican gubernatorial primary long before ballots were counted: would President Donald Trump’s endorsement still pull a candidate all the way through.
A week and a half earlier, Trump handed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette 11th-hour support as she tries to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Henry McMaster. Now, as Tuesday’s vote plays out, Evette is not headed toward an easy path to the nomination.
Evette faces a GOP primary field that includes South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, nationally known Rep. Nancy Mace, Rep. Ralph Norman and multimillionaire businessman Rom Reddy. No candidate is expected to top 50% of the vote. which means the top two finishers will advance to a June 23 Republican runoff.
That setup—no clear majority, and only two names moving on—turns Trump’s influence into a high-stakes bet. It’s a way to measure power not by endorsements, but by whether they hold when voters are presented with multiple choices that are all eager to prove they align with Trump and his agenda.
Over the past month, the brute force of Trump’s endorsement power has been on display in GOP primaries that he targeted. In showdowns in Indiana, Louisiana, Kentucky and Texas, his candidates ousted incumbents—moves that drew national attention. But the president’s momentum has not been automatic.
One week before this latest test, Trump’s endorsement-winning streak in high-profile Republican primaries was snapped. A day after he endorsed Evette, he also supported Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa in a bid to succeed retiring GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds. Even with that last-minute backing, Feenstra wasn’t able to secure victory.
Feenstra was narrowly edged 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.
Back in South Carolina, Trump’s support for Evette has been delivered with familiar intensity. Trump stayed neutral for months before endorsing her, then praised her in his announcement as an “America First Patriot” and a “WINNER.” He also headlined a tele-rally for Evette on the eve of the primary.
But in South Carolina, the endorsement did not stay contained to one campaign message.
In a social media post endorsing Evette. Trump said he expected Evette to choose Henry McMaster Jr. the governor’s son. as her running mate for lieutenant governor. That comment triggered blowback in South Carolina political circles and sparked 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.
McMaster denied any deal or pressure. Evette, for her part, said she wouldn’t name a running mate until after the primary is over.
Then on Friday, Henry McMaster Jr. stepped back from the moment itself. He took his name out of contention, describing it as “incredibly humbling” to be mentioned as a possible lieutenant governor candidate, but saying “now is simply not the right time.”
The sequence is clear in the facts alone: Trump endorsed Evette and publicly pointed to a preferred path for lieutenant governor, McMaster denied any pressure, Evette drew a line about timing, and then the younger McMaster removed his name from consideration before the primary could decide anything.
As the runoff mechanism looms—top two finishers advancing to June 23—South Carolina’s election becomes a direct test of how much of Trump’s influence is persuasion and how much is momentum that can outlast the noise around it.
South Carolina GOP primary Pamela Evette Henry McMaster Alan Wilson Nancy Mace Ralph Norman Rom Reddy Trump endorsement June 23 runoff Henry McMaster Jr. Randy Feenstra Zach Lahn MAHA Turning Point USA