There are men who make hard choices. Donald Trump looked at the South Carolina Republican gubernatorial runoff, assessed Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette against Congressman William Timmons, and endorsed both of them, a decision that requires either an unusual definition of the word “endorse” or a desire to be on the winning side of a race that was never going to produce a losing side for him.
Evette and Timmons are the only two candidates. They are running against each other. Per Fox News, Trump announced Sunday that he backs both South Carolina GOP gubernatorial candidates in the runoff race, a sentence that requires reading twice to confirm it means what it says. It means what it says.
South Carolina has not elected a Democratic governor since 1998. Trump won the state by 14 points in 2024. The Republican nominee will be the next governor. This was true before the endorsement and remains true after it. What the endorsement changes is the press release, and nothing else, because both Evette and Timmons now carry equal Trump authority into a race against each other, which is the mathematical equivalent of carrying none.
Both candidates sought Trump’s backing loudly, visibly, and in the language of MAGA loyalty. Both received it. Simultaneously. The effect is that the word “endorsed” no longer refers to a choice between them but to a preference for whichever one wins, which is not a preference, which is not an endorsement, which is a man announcing he supports the winner of a coin flip before it lands.
The Trump endorsement was, at its peak power, a thing that moved races and cost capital. In South Carolina in 2026 it is a guarantee that the correct Republican will be called Trump-endorsed on the night of the result, whoever she or he turns out to be.
When the most coveted endorsement in Republican politics is awarded to both candidates in the same race, what exactly were the candidates competing for?
Sources
Fox News: Double endorsement drama: Trump backs second candidate in red state’s GOP gubernatorial runoff
Fox News: Trump backs both South Carolina GOP gubernatorial candidates in runoff race
Washington Examiner: Trump double-endorses in South Carolina governor’s race, dealing setback to Pamela Evette
Breitbart: Trump Endorses South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pam Evette, AG Alan Wilson for Governor: ‘With Either One You Can’t Go Wrong’
