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by MARK POWELL
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When is a “complete and total endorsement” from U.S. president Donald Trump suddenly divisible by two? When it’s South Carolina’s Republican runoff election for governor, apparently.
MAGA voters in the Palmetto State now have two Trump-back candidates to choose from in next Tuesday’s gubernatorial runoff election.
“I am honored to have the endorsement of President Donald J. Trump,” the race’s frontrunner, attorney general Alan Wilson announced on social media Friday evening. “President Trump has fought harder than anyone to secure our border, restore American strength, drain the swamp, protect our freedoms, and put working families first.
“As South Carolina’s attorney general, I have been proud to stand with him in that fight,” Wilson continued. “I defended President Trump’s executive orders. I backed his America First cabinet. I fought back against the Left’s lawfare and political prosecutions. I defended election integrity. I took the Biden Administration to court when they tried to force their woke, unconstitutional agenda on South Carolina. And I never backed down.”
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Wait, though… didn’t Trump already endorse a candidate in this race?
Yes. Three weeks ago to the day, Trump made his first endorsement in the race – lending his “complete and total” support to the state’s lieutenant governor, Pamela Evette.
Unfortunately, Trump’s nod – while good enough to boost Evette into first place on primary day – wasn’t nearly enough to overcome Wilson’s much broader base of support in a head-to-head runoff election.
Seeing the writing on the wall, Trump hedged – making good on speculation first advanced by reporter Natalie Allison of The Washington Post three days ago.
In a classic case of having it both ways, Trump shared on his Truth Social platform that he was endorsing Wilson and Evette.
“These are the two that I was hoping would get into a Runoff,” Trump wrote. “And they did. 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! It’s a Wealth of Riches — With either you can’t go wrong.”
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Evette’s campaign would likely beg to differ with her erstwhile exclusive political benefactor.
“Trump just pulled the rug out from under Evette,” a national GOP strategist in Washington observed. “He can say what he wants, but it’s hardly a vote of confidence when he hedges his bet by also backing your opponent. He just snatched Pamela Evette’s strongest card right out of her hand.”
Trump treats his endorsement like a commodity: bestowing it, splitting it when he feels the situation requires it, and even transferring it from one candidate to another. While splits such as the Evette-Wilson dual endorsements are the exception to the rule, they’re not unheard of, either. A prime example is next month’s Arizona first district congressional primary, in which the president is supporting both Gina Swoboda and Jay Feely.
Wilson has rounded up endorsements from all of his former rivals in the June 9, 2026 primary except Lowcountry multi-millionaire Rom Reddy. His campaign also touts support from 80% of South Carolina sheriffs.
With early voting finished and just days remaining till Tuesday’s make-or-break runoff, some Republicans who look to Trump’s choices for guidance may now find themselves in a quandary.
Which of his endorsees do they go with?
“Poor Pam just can’t catch a break,” one long-time Palmetto political observer shared this with us. “Trump’s first endorsement fell flat. Her polling numbers are sinking like the Titanic. Now she just lost 50% of her biggest claim to fame. All that’s left is for Henry McMaster to endorse Alan, too. Tuesday night probably can’t get here fast enough for poor Pam.”
The runoff election is set for next Tuesday (June 23, 2026), with the winner facing Democrat Jermaine Johnson in the general election in November. For the past three decades, the GOP nomination has been decisive – with no Democrat winning a top-of-the-ticket race in South Carolina since 1998.
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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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