President Donald Trump on Friday endorsed Pamela Evette, lieutenant governor of South Carolina, in her battle against U.S. Congresswoman Nancy Mace and a slew of others, ahead of the state’s GOP gubernatorial primary.
Recent polls have shown Evette in the lead, as others earlier in the year had Mace ahead. Trump has endorsed against Mace in the past, but he backed her reelection in 2024, describing her in part as a “strong conservative voice.”
Taking to Truth Social on Friday evening, Trump said in a lengthy post, in part, “Highly Respected and very popular Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina, Pam Evette, is an America First Patriot who has been with me from the very beginning. She never wavered, never let me down, and was the only South Carolina Gubernatorial Candidate to Endorse me as soon as I launched my 2024 Presidential Campaign.”
He later concluded that, “Pam has my Complete and Total Endorsement — SHE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN! A BIG added plus for Pam is that, I hear, Henry McMaster, Jr., the brilliant and very competent son of Henry and Peggy, will be running with her as the next Lieutenant Governor. I LOVE SOUTH CAROLINA! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Newsweek reached out to Mace’s campaign via email on Friday night for comment.
What To Know
Evette reacted to Trump’s endorsement, taking to X to say, “Thank you President @realDonaldTrump. Your walk down that golden escalator is what propelled me into politics. You showed what a businessperson can do to make America Great Again. I am incredibly grateful for your support and will never let you down.”
Mace backed Trump in his race for the White House in 2024 but noticeably has been critical of the Department of Justice’s handling of the Epstein files.
Mace also released a lengthy response to Trump’s backing of Evette, on X Friday night. She said in part that, “I have enormous respect for President Trump and everything he has done for our country and for South Carolina. That respect is genuine and it is unchanged.” She went on to add that her demands of transparency surrounding the Epstein files “put the likelihood of an endorsement on the line.”
“South Carolina deserves a Governor who answers to her people, not to the establishment, and not to anyone who believes accountability is negotiable,” Mace later said.
What Polls Show
In a survey by the Trafalgar Group, Evette is leading with 19.9 percent compared to Attorney General Alan Wilson’s 19.4 percent, businessman Rom Reddy’s 19 percent, Congressman Ralph Norman’s 15.9 percent, Mace’s 14.6 percent, decertified candidate Jacqueline Dubose’s 3.2 percent and South Carolina State Senator Josh Kimbrell’s 2.3 percent.
The survey also shows that 5.6 are undecided. The poll was taken from May 21 to May 24 among 1,125 likely Republican primary voters and has a margin of error of 2.9 percent.
Another poll at the end of April by co/efficient shows Evette in the lead with 21 percent. Wilson had 18 percent, Norman had 13 percent, Mace had 12 percent, Reddy had 11 percent, Kimbrell had 2 percent and 22 percent were undecided.
The poll was taken on April 29 and April 30 among 813 likely Republican primary voters and had a margin of error of 3.44 percent. The poll noted that Mace dropped 5 percent and Evette gained 2 percent compared to a previous survey by the pollster at the end of March.
In an earlier March poll by co/efficient, Mace landed 22 percent, Evette had 21 percent, Wilson had 19 percent, Norman had 8 percent, Kimbrell had 1 percent and 29 percent were undecided. The poll was taken on March 12 and March 13 among 810 likely Republican primary voters and had a margin of error of 3.43 percent.
Read the full article here
