President Donald Trump, rattled by a string of embarrassing primary losses this year, is scrambling to save his endorsed candidate in South Carolina’s Senate runoff – and turning to a surprising source for help.
Sen. Darline Graham, appointed by Trump to finish the term of her late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, faces Rep. Ralph Norman, a House Freedom Caucus stalwart, in an Aug. 25 runoff after a compressed two-week sprint from the primary, and the contest has split MAGA world, reported the Washington Post.
On primary election night, moments after Graham secured her runoff spot, Trump went to work trying to consolidate support behind her. He called Rep. Russell Fry, an ally who finished third and whom Trump had once considered endorsing.
Then, in a previously unreported call, Trump phoned Mark Sanford, the former South Carolina governor and congressman who became a vocal Trump critic, lost his 2018 House primary partly because of it, and briefly challenged Trump for the 2020 GOP presidential nomination.
Trump had never called Sanford before, but according to three people familiar with the conversation, he asked Sanford to endorse Graham. The call was cordial, but Trump didn’t press hard, and Sanford made no commitment, and he later told reporters he didn’t intend to endorse.
Fry also remains undecided, leaving Graham’s campaign and White House allies anxiously awaiting his decision. Trump’s team is separately weighing a pre-runoff rally for Graham near Myrtle Beach, in Fry’s home turf, an area where Norman performed poorly during the primary even as he dominated the Upstate region.
The maneuvering marks a shift from Trump’s more hands-off approach in South Carolina’s earlier gubernatorial primary, where his endorsed candidate, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, lost after Trump muddied the race with a dual endorsement of her and her opponent.
Some allies are now floating a similar dual endorsement of both Graham and Norman in the Senate runoff, an idea Trump has not ruled out, telling reporters after the primary that he liked all the candidates. “They’re all Trumpers,” he said.
South Carolina Republicans recently received texts asking how they’d vote if Trump endorsed both candidates, though it’s unclear who commissioned the poll.
Norman, notably, is backed by Nikki Haley, his longtime friend who challenged Trump in the 2024 primary – a relationship that has strained his standing with the president. He also has support from Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL) and Mike Lee (R-UT), along with Turning Point Action and CPAC.
Graham counters with backing from Sens. Tim Scott (R-SC) and Tom Cotton (R-AR).
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