Will he or won’t he?
That’s the question supporters of incumbent “Republican” governor Henry McMaster are asking right now as it relates to U.S. president Donald Trump.
It’s no secret Trump is backing the gubernatorial bid of McMaster, who belatedly endorsed him during the “First in the South” presidential campaign in 2016. Trump has rewarded McMaster handsomely for that endorsement, too, gifting him the governor’s mansion last January and traveling to Greenville, S.C. to raise money for his gubernatorial campaign last fall.
McMaster has touted Trump’s endorsement ad nauseam on the campaign trail over the past few months – but it wasn’t enough to get the beleaguered incumbent through the GOP primary on the first ballot.
Will it get him through the runoff? That depends …
Just how far is Trump willing to go to see McMaster stave off his final challenger in the race for governor?
McMaster’s opponent in the “Republican” runoff – Upstate businessman John Warren – is actually far more Trump-esque than the incumbent. The 39-year-old is an outsider boasting a corporate background. Beyond that he has an attractive young family and military experience (the latter of which McMaster is reportedly preparing to target).
He’d better target it well …
Not only has Warren picked up the support of the top two candidates from the GOP primary – Lowcountry labor lawyer Catherine Templeton and lieutenant governor Kevin Bryant – but early post-primary polling shows a competitive race shaping up.
How these polling numbers unfold over the course of the next week could determine whether Trump makes a trip to the Palmetto State on McMaster’s behalf or not.
According to our sources, McMaster backers are frantically working the phones in an attempt to get Trump to make another appearance in Greenville, S.C. – where Warren beat him during the first round of voting.
“No luck yet,” our source said.
[timed-content-server show=’2018-Jan-17 00:00:00′ hide=’2018-Jun-18 00:00:00′]SPONSORED CONTENT – ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
[/timed-content-server]One thing is clear: Trump will not make a decision without an abundance of political calculation, as evidenced by his last-second decision to weigh in on the first congressional district race – where state representative Katie Arrington knocked off incumbent “Republican” congressman Mark Sanford.
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