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by WILL FOLKS
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There’s a curious dynamic at work in South Carolina – an ostensibly bright red state where a majority of Republican primary voters have pledged their loyalty to the MAGA/America First agenda.
The problem? The perceived architect of that agenda – U.S. president Donald Trump – has endorsed a decidedly America-last candidate for U.S. Senate, incumbent turncoat Lindsey Graham. Trump’s seemingly counter-intuitive support of Graham comes as two far more conservative options – Greenville, S.C. businessman Mark Lynch and attorney Paul Dans (one of the architects of the Project 2025 agenda) – are actively campaigning against the fiscally liberal, perpetually warmongering senator from Seneca, S.C.
This week, we sat down with Lynch for an in-studio interview.
“Lindsey’s betrayed South Carolina,” Lynch told us. “He’s betraying America, and he’s stabbing Trump in the back every chance he gets. He’s a Never Trumper, and something’s got to be done about it. We need somebody that’s a true conservative Republican and that will lead South Carolina and work for Americans and put America first again.”
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Lynch told us about how his family-owned business – Jeff Lynch Appliances (named after his late father) – has thrived during periods of dramatic economic change.
“We fought against the giants – the big box stores of Circuit City and Sears and Lowe’s and Home Depot and Best Buy and Rooms To Go and Mattress Firm and all these companies,” Lynch said, calling his business career a “David and Goliath story.”
Asked how he intended to wage a similar “David and Goliath” campaign in the political arena against Graham (whose vulnerability is up for debate), he didn’t hesitate to invoke the Almighty – terming his candidacy a “calling” and a “God-first campaign.”
As for Trump’s endorsement of Graham, Lynch said “some of (it) is hurting Trump’s popularity” – but acknowledged “Trump’s a smart business guy.”
“He knows he has a lean Senate majority, so I know the endorsement basically guaranteed him (Graham’s) vote and probably a couple of other U.S. senators that he needed to come along with Lindsey,” Lynch said.
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RELATED | IN STUDIO: PAUL DANS
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As for Dans, Lynch said South Carolina voters “prefer a successful businessman, not another attorney.”
“Paul Dans is an attorney,” Lynch said. “He’s also not really a South Carolinian. I’ve lived her my whole life.”
Lynch also noted that Dans has “taken a lot of credit that he doesn’t deserve for Project 2025,” adding that the “Heritage Foundation fired him and President Trump dissed him and disassociated (with) his work there.”
According to Lynch, “Paul was put in (the race) to disrupt my vote and split the vote.”
“We’re committed to win this thing,” Lynch said. “And I’m here to serve you and work for the people and get truth back into Congress and good representation for South Carolina. It’s past due. South Carolina is wonderful, but we’ve got a lot of work to do and we’ve got to have somebody that represents the people and shows up other than just campaign season, right? I’ll serve you the whole six years. I’m committed to it.”
Graham, Dans and Lynch will face voters on June 9, 2026 in the Republican primary election. So far, über-woke progressive pediatrician Annie Andrews is the top candidate to emerge among the Democrat field. As FITSNews has previously noted, beating the incumbent will not be easy. For starters, there’s his ready access to tens of millions of dollars from the military-industrial complex – a spigot which flow all the more freely in the event he finds himself in genuine political peril. The sad truth is Graham’s neoconservative warmongering – which has frequently endangered our national security – has equipped him with unlimited ability to defend himself against attacks and aggressively attack his rivals.
Can Lynch or Dans finally break this vicious cycle?
To view my complete conversation with Lynch, click here.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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1 comment
“Can Lynch or Dans finally break this vicious cycle? No.