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by MARK POWELL
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To borrow from Mark Twain, are reports on the demise of Donald Trump’s endorsement greatly exaggerated?
For much of 2026, Republican political strategists, pollsters, and grassroots activists have wondered whether the days of Trump bestowing his personal seal of approval on a candidate being the decisive factor with GOP voters have come and gone. This news site reported a few months back that the win record for Trump-backed campaigns had hit a patch of bumpy road of late.
More recently, we reported on Trump’s new polling nadir – including some troubling numbers in ostensibly bright red South Carolina.
Then came Louisiana, and everything changed. That’s got Palmetto pols now wondering if there’s still magic left in Trump’s backing and – if so, can be used as an 11th-hour swaying factor here in South Carolina’s GOP governor’s primary.
U.S. senator Bill Cassidy drew Trump’s ire in January 2021 when he voted to convict in the second Trump impeachment. That decision apparently stuck in the craw of many Bayou State Republicans, earning Cassidy a painful reminder that, as the saying goes, payback is hell.
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Cassidy, 68, originally of Illinois, was seeking his third term in the U.S. Senate after spending six years in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2009-2015. With all precincts reporting on Saturday, he received just 99,479 votes – or 24.8% of all ballots cast. That placed him well behind congresswoman Julia Letlow – who received 179,876 votes (44.8%) and narrowly behind second-place finisher John Fleming, the state treasurer. Fleming received 113,428 votes (28.3%) to advance to a runoff election against Letlow on June 27, 2026.
Trump plunged into the race last week, calling Cassidy “very disloyal” and a “disaster” and throwing his weight behind Letlow.
“Bill Cassidy, after falsely using his ‘relationship’ with me during his political career, and winning elections because of it, voted to impeach me on preposterous charges that were fake then, and now, are criminally insane!” Trump posted as the results were coming in. “His disloyalty to the man who got him elected is now a part of legend, and it’s nice to see that his political career is OVER! I’d like to thank the great people of the state of Louisiana, and this big victory will only make me work even harder for your success, and all that comes with it.”
Closer to home, South Carolina congressman Russell Fry also relished the moment – recalling his victory over incumbent congressman Tom Rice, another Republican who backed the second impeachment of Trump.
“MAGA REMEMBERS,” he wrote. “I beat Trump impeacher Tom Rice just two years after his betrayal.
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? MAGA REMEMBERS
— Russell Fry (@RussellFrySC) May 17, 2026
I beat Trump impeacher Tom Rice just 2 years after his betrayal.
Then @HagemanforWY wiped out Liz Cheney months later.
Tonight, 6 years after the ridiculous impeachment scam, Cassidy is DONE. ?
To everyone thinking “Trump’s influence is over” or “MAGA will… pic.twitter.com/eJRbVNwxrz
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“Tonight, six years after the ridiculous impeachment scam, Cassidy is DONE,” Fry continued. “To everyone thinking ‘Trump’s influence is over’ or ‘MAGA will forget,’ how’ that working out?”
Which brings us to the next big event looming on the political scene.
With South Carolina’s gubernatorial primary now just twenty-three (23) days away – and with an unsettlingly large number of Republican voters still undecided – the lure of Trump’s endorsement is larger than ever. And with the luster of Saturday’s Louisiana victory glimmering like the paint on a new car, it seems more attractive than ever to the six candidates seeking the nomination.
The timing couldn’t be more dramatic, either, with the state legislature recently called into a special session to address Trump’s most cherished issue at the moment – congressional redistricting. The political world is still buzzing with rumors of a “corrupt bargain” between Trump World and governor Henry McMaster for calling that special session. Speculation centers around whether Trump’s endorsement of his hand-picked successor, lieutenant governor Pamela Evette, was the price tag for McMaster keeping legislators in Columbia after the regular session ended.
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Conversely, Saturday’s flexing of Trump’s endorsement muscle is motivating Evette’s opponents to similarly beg the White House for Trump’s backing — or at the very least to sit this race altogether.
As this news outlet has noted multiple times previously, when you consider the GOP’s paper-thin majority in the U.S. House – and when you consider two Republican House members and the son of a third are running for governor – endorsing anyone in this race is fraught with political peril for the president.
But Trump is a perpetual wild card. Having just witnessed how his influence swayed the outcome of one Southern primary, might he be tempted to try for a repeat performance to further burnish his sagging endorsement fortunes?
There’s also this issue for Evette’s team to ponder: per our sources, polling shows anywhere between 25-40% of GOP primary voters believe Trump has already endorsed her (a testament to how ubiquitously and servilely she has genuflected to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue since announcing her candidacy).
So… will he or won’t he? Keep it tuned to FITSNews as we await the answer to that question…
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
J. Mark Powell is an award-winning former TV journalist, government communications veteran, and a political consultant. He is also an author and an avid Civil War enthusiast. Got a tip or a story idea for Mark? Email him at mark@fitsnews.com.
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