Trump's South Carolina, Oklahoma wins show enduring clout with GOP voters

President Donald Trump demonstrated his political strength with Republican primary voters Tuesday in South Carolina, as CNN's Decision Desk projected that Darline Graham, the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham and the president's pick in the state's special Senate primary runoff, will claim the GOP nomination.

Now favored to win a full term in November, Darline Graham is, in many ways, a senator of Trump's own making. The president lobbied South Carolina's governor to appoint her to fill the remaining months in her brother's term after he died in July. Then, he privately and publicly pressed her to run for a full six-year term.

And when it looked like her rival in the runoff, Rep. Ralph Norman, might win, Trump visited Myrtle Beach to rally Republican loyalists to Graham's cause, as his super PAC, MAGA Inc., disclosed spending more than $827,000 to support Graham.

Graham's win is narrow, she led by just a few percentage points Tuesday evening, but symbolically significant for the president in a month full of political setbacks, with six of his endorsed picks losing Republican primaries.

Trump notched another win in Oklahoma, where the Republican he endorsed won a primary runoff in the race for governor, defeating a rival who has sought to slow the construction of a massive aluminum plant the president supports.

And in a low-turnout special election runoff in Georgia, Democrats filled a vacancy in the narrowly divided House.

A badly needed win for Trump

Darline Graham took to the stage at her victory party Tuesday night and declared:

South Carolina is truly Trump country.

Unlike her brother, who was close to the late Sen. John McCain and built a reputation as a foreign policy hawk independent from Trump, Darline Graham's political profile was tied entirely to the president.

Our victory would not have been possible without you, and we are truly grateful,

she said in a message directed at Trump.

For Trump, the win was badly needed, a victory in one of his highest-risk interventions in Republican primaries this year, after a string of several losses this month and with midterm elections just over two months away. It could serve to remind Republican lawmakers who might be looking to distance themselves from an unpopular president of the potential political costs of being at odds with Trump.

Norman acknowledged Trump's role in the race's outcome, telling his supporters Tuesday night that

the president got involved. He has that right.

I never understood why he got in this race,

Norman said as some members of the crowd booed the president.

But it is what it is, and I'll accept it.

Graham is now set to face Democratic nominee Annie Andrews, a pediatrician, in November. Andrews on Tuesday challenged Graham to at least three televised debates, saying in a statement that

no appointment, endorsement, or family connection entitles anyone to six years

in the Senate. Still, Graham is heavily favored to win the deep-red state in the general election.

A senator of Trump's making

Trump has endorsed a slew of candidates this year, but rarely has he put his own political capital on the line like he did in South Carolina.

When Trump initially talked up Darline Graham to fill the seat of her late brother, and Gov. Henry McMaster complied, it seemed like a short-term gig. The seat was already on the ballot for a full six-year term in November, so she'd have been a placeholder for a few months, until South Carolina voters nominated and elected one of the state's myriad experienced Republicans who had been waiting decades for a Senate vacancy.

But Trump doubled down three days after she was sworn in, urging her on social media to seek a full term. And, days later, she announced she would do so.

The president's complete and total endorsement wasn't enough to clear the field. After all, Darline Graham had no political experience, and her brother wasn't exactly beloved among conservative voters in South Carolina. He'd earned just 57% of the vote in his primary two months earlier against a handful of relative unknowns.

The results of the August 11 primary suggested she could be defeated in the runoff. She finished first, but with just shy of 33% of the vote.

There were reasons to believe Trump's influence might be limited. After all, his choice in South Carolina's GOP primary for governor, Lt. Gov. Pam Evette, lost to state Attorney General Alan Wilson, who Trump also endorsed at the last minute when it was clear his preference was on course for defeat.

The president did not have the luxury of the same face-saving tack here. Norman had endorsed and campaigned with former Gov. Nikki Haley as she ran against Trump for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.

Graham's inexperience was on display during a debate with Norman earlier this month, when she declined to answer a question about Taiwan and the South China Sea, saying that national security was not my thing.

But Trump carried Graham over the finish line. He visited South Carolina on Friday, telling Republicans that he'd personally lobbied her to run for a full term.

Pretend, please, that I'm on the ballot,

he urged GOP voters.

Another endorsement test in Oklahoma

Trump notched another victory in Oklahoma, this one even narrower, with CNN projecting that his preferred candidate in the governor's race, former state Sen. Mike Mazzei, will win a Republican primary runoff against state Attorney General Gentner Drummond.

The two are vying to take on Oklahoma House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson, the Democratic nominee, in the race to replace term-limited Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt in November.

The race was another test of Trump's influence, and there were significant questions over whether his endorsement would be enough for Mazzei, after Trump's picks in Republican gubernatorial primaries in Georgia, Iowa and Minnesota all lost earlier this year.

A key divide in the primary was a proposed $4 billion aluminum smelter at the Tulsa Port of Inola, estimated to bring about 1,000 jobs to the area. Trump touted the plant, claiming on Truth Social that it

will be one of the best projects ever conceived or built, not only in the Great State of Oklahoma, but in the United States, itself.

But, amid local concerns about pollution and damage to the livestock economy, Drummond has sued, asking a federal court to block the plant's construction.

Georgia Dems fill a House seat

CNN projects that Democrat Everton Blair, a former Gwinnett County School Board chair, will win the special election for Georgia's 13th District House seat vacated by the late Rep. David Scott's death in April.

But he won't hold that seat for long.

Blair, who will be the first out gay member of Congress from Georgia, defeated the longtime lawmaker's daughter Marcye Scott in the special election runoff on Tuesday. He campaigned on a pledge to be a stronger opponent to Trump and advocate for a more progressive affordability agenda than both the late congressman and his daughter.

However, Blair finished a distant third in the regular House primary earlier this year, so he won't be on the ballot in November.

State lawmaker Jasmine Clark is the Democratic nominee for a full two-year term in the deep-blue district in November. She did not run in the special election because under state law, she would have had to resign her seat in the Georgia House, costing Democrats a seat just as Republican Gov. Brian Kemp was launching an unsuccessful push for mid-decade redistricting.

In the meantime, Blair's win, and the special election of state Sen. Aisha Wahab in California last week, will help Democrats further narrow the already razor-thin GOP majority in the House.

What do these primary results mean for Iowa?

For Iowa voters, Tuesday's results carry a clear message: President Trump's endorsement remains a powerful force in Republican primaries, even after a string of high-profile losses earlier this month. With Iowa's own gubernatorial primary having seen Trump's pick lose earlier this year, the South Carolina and Oklahoma wins suggest the president's influence is durable, though not absolute.

The Oklahoma race also highlights a theme that resonates in Iowa's agricultural communities. The fight over the $4 billion aluminum plant, with concerns about pollution and livestock economy impacts, mirrors debates Iowa has faced over large-scale industrial projects and their effect on farming communities. Trump's support for the plant, framed as an energy independence and jobs initiative, aligns with his broader economic message that has found strong support across rural Iowa.

FAQ

How did Trump's endorsed candidates perform in Tuesday's primaries?

Trump's endorsed candidates won in both South Carolina and Oklahoma. Darline Graham won the GOP Senate nomination in South Carolina, and Mike Mazzei won the Republican gubernatorial runoff in Oklahoma.

Who will Darline Graham face in the November general election?

Darline Graham will face Democratic nominee Annie Andrews, a pediatrician, in the November general election for South Carolina's Senate seat. Graham is heavily favored to win in the deep-red state.

What was the key issue in Oklahoma's Republican gubernatorial runoff?

The key divide was a proposed $4 billion aluminum smelter at the Tulsa Port of Inola, which Trump supported and which is expected to bring about 1,000 jobs. His opponent, Attorney General Gentner Drummond, sued to block the plant over pollution and livestock economy concerns.

CNN's Katie Doran and Adam Cancryn contributed to this report.