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Former South Carolina GOP chair Katon Dawson told The Hill’s sister news network, NewsNation, in an interview on Tuesday that it’s “not a given” that Sen. Darline Graham (R-S.C.) will win the open GOP primary to serve the full six-year term for the South Carolina Senate seat.
“Don’t think so. If that was the case, then the lieutenant governor would have won. And the lieutenant governor got beat handily by a sitting attorney general in South Carolina for governor,” Dawson told NewsNation’s chief Washington correspondent Blake Burman when asked if President Trump’s endorsement made Graham the immediate favorite.
Trump endorsed South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette (R) in the June GOP gubernatorial primary, and later announced endorsements for both Evette and South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson (R) as the Republican prosecutor showed momentum heading into the South Carolina GOP governor’s primary. Wilson defeated Evette in the runoff.
“Endorsements help — I’d rather have it than hurt it,” Dawson said, later adding, “It’s not a given that she’s going to win because of that endorsement. People are going to look or try to learn where you stand on certain things.”
Graham announced this week that she would be running for the full six-year term for her late brother’s seat, surprising Republicans who believed she would only serve in a “caretaker” role and serve the remainder of her brother’s term until January.
Trump endorsed Graham for the full term, though it hasn’t scared off several other Republicans from vying for the Senate seat. GOP Reps. Russell Fry and Ralph Norman and businessman Mark Lynch are also running for the seat in the Aug. 11 special primary.
Candidates have until Tuesday to file their candidacy. If no one outright wins more than half of the vote on Aug. 11, the top two finishers will head to an Aug. 25 runoff.
Trump’s endorsement has proven consequential in most primaries this cycle — every candidate he’s backed in a federal race has won their primary. However, the president’s picks for governor in several states ultimately lost.
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