Trump backs Alan Wilson too in SC governor’s race: ‘You can’t go wrong’

COLUMBIA — President Donald Trump made a dual endorsement Friday in the race to be South Carolina’s next governor, saying voters can’t go wrong with either Republican in the runoff.

Trump’s additional backing of Attorney General Alan Wilson comes just four days before voters pick the GOP nominee.

It’s a score for Wilson, three weeks after Trump endorsed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette in the race to replace Gov. Henry McMaster.

The endorsement gave Evette a boost heading into the June 9 primary, propelling her to the lead in what had been a six-way race — but just barely. With about 29% of the vote, she led by less than 3 percentage points over Wilson, who has since picked up the endorsements of three of their former opponents.

Trump’s combined backing means he won’t lose regardless of who wins Tuesday.

“There are two Highly Respected Candidates running to be your next Governor,” Trump wrote Friday evening on his social media platform Truth Social.

“Both have had amazing careers, and have been with me from the beginning. They are MAGA and America First all the way! These were the two that I was hoping would get into a Runoff, 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 one you can’t go wrong. Vote for Pam or Alan — They will not let you down!”

GOP gubernatorial candidates differ on calls to defund SC State, allow a casino

Thanking the president for the endorsement, Wilson pointed to the many times he’s gone to court and signed on to legal briefs supporting Trump’s agenda.

“As South Carolina’s Attorney General, I have been proud to stand with him,” Wilson wrote on X. “And I never backed down. When President Trump needed fighters, I was in the fight.”

The dual endorsement takes away one of Evette’s key arguments that she’s the lone candidate with Trump’s “complete and total endorsement.”

She’d been running as though she had Trump’s endorsement long before he officially backed her, causing her opponents to cry foul at her marketing campaign. U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, who came in fifth in the primary, blasted Evette as a liar only hours before Trump announced his endorsement.

“I was proud to come in first,” she wrote on X in response to Trump’s decision to back Wilson too.

Trump’s endorsement, however, came with controversy.

His May 29 post suggested Evette was going to pick the governor’s son, attorney Henry McMaster Jr., as her running mate, bringing criticism of a political dynasty and accusations of a quid pro quo that the governor repeatedly denied. A week later, the governor’s son publicly announced he would not join her ticket. She has not named a running mate.

Gov. McMaster was the first statewide official to back Trump ahead of South Carolina’s 2016 presidential primary. At the time, he was lieutenant governor. When Trump became president, he asked Gov. Nikki Haley to be his first United Nations ambassador, clearing the way for McMaster to ascend to the governor’s office in January 2017. The governor has remained a staunch supporter ever since. And Trump, in turn, has backed McMaster throughout his 2½-term tenure.

In a call-in rally on the eve of the primary, Trump praised Evette while saying, “You can’t get better than Henry.”

And South Carolina has voted for Trump every time he’s been on the ballot, including in the 2024 presidential primary over Haley.

He began his post Friday by again declaring how much he loves the Palmetto State.

“I love the Wonderful State of South Carolina for every reason in the book, including the fact that it is ‘loaded up’ with truly GREAT people and Political Leaders,” he wrote.

His added endorsement of Wilson comes three days after his pick in the Georgia governor’s race lost. On Tuesday, Republican businessman Rick Jackson defeated Trump-endorsed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who will face Atlanta’s former mayor, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, in November.