Trump Wins South Carolina GOP Governor Race Either Way — Because He Endorsed Both Candidates

Here's a political story that sounds weird at first — until it makes total sense once you know the context.

South Carolina is holding a Republican runoff election for governor on June 23, 2026, to decide who'll replace term-limited Gov. Henry McMaster. Two candidates made it out of the crowded June 9 primary: Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and state Attorney General Alan Wilson. Whoever wins the GOP nomination is almost certain to become governor — South Carolina hasn't elected a Democratic governor since 2002.

Now here's the twist. Back in late May, Trump had already given Evette his "Complete and Total Endorsement," calling her a "good friend, fighter, and WINNER." She came in first in the June 9 primary with 29% of the vote — but that wasn't enough to avoid a runoff, since Wilson came in a very close second with 26%. So the two headed into a head-to-head rematch.

Fast forward to the Friday before the runoff. Trump jumps on Truth Social and drops a bombshell: he's now endorsing both of them. His reasoning, in his own words? "I can't hurt one of them by only Endorsing the other" — so he declared himself behind both Pam Evette and Alan Wilson, telling South Carolina voters "with either one you can't go wrong."

So why do this? The Fox News piece frames it as Trump maintaining his endorsement streak — since no matter who wins, he'll have backed them. But there's a cleaner explanation hiding in plain sight: Trump had been taking losses. His endorsed candidate in Iowa (Rep. Randy Feenstra) lost his governor's primary to a MAHA-aligned businessman. Then in Georgia, Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones lost his runoff to billionaire outsider Rick Jackson. Two strikes in a row. Backing both candidates in South Carolina guaranteed he'd get a win on the board no matter what.

For Evette, the dual endorsement was awkward at best. Her own campaign had been insisting — as recently as the Thursday before the announcement — that she had Trump's "complete and total endorsement" and was "the only Trump-endorsed candidate in this race." Then roughly 24 hours later, Trump shared the endorsement with Wilson. Political observers in South Carolina had already noted she was trailing in limited polling and was seen as a weaker candidate — even some Trump-supporting voters were confused about why he backed her in the first place.

Wilson, by contrast, got a momentum boost from the double endorsement. He quickly picked up additional support from Sen. Tim Scott and Sen. Ted Cruz, both of whom came out for him. Nearly every candidate who lost in the first primary had already endorsed Wilson going into the runoff.

The story ends with a clean result: Alan Wilson won the Republican nomination on June 23, routing Evette. Trump, per the Fox News framing, kept his endorsement "streak" alive — because he had a horse in the race either way.

What does this mean for you? If you vote in Republican primaries — in South Carolina or anywhere else — it's worth knowing that a Trump endorsement is increasingly being used as a political insurance policy, not just a genuine stamp of approval for one candidate. When Trump endorses someone, it carries real weight. But when he endorses everyone, the signal gets a lot murkier.