Still Winning: Trump Rings Up Two More Primary Victories in SC, OK

Donald Trump’s primary momentum carried two allies to victory yesterday, emphasizing the president’s influence on the party base. Both wins turned out to be narrow indeed, and one of them may end up in a recount while the other has generated some hard feelings. Still, a W is a W, and Trump scored two in key runoff contests last night. 

In South Carolina, Darline Graham Nordone beat Ralph Norman in the special runoff following the death of her brother Lindsey. Graham had been expected to win easily until a gaffe in her debate with Norman threatened to upend the race. Trump held a rally in Myrtle Beach to keep her on track, and the narrow result suggests that Trump closed the deal:

Sen. Darline Graham defeated Rep. Ralph Norman in South Carolina’s Republican primary runoff, NBC News projects, a victory for President Donald Trump, who recruited, endorsed and campaigned for her following her brother Lindsey Graham’s death six weeks ago.

With nearly all of the vote tallied, Graham was leading Norman roughly 52% to 48%.

At her election night party in Columbia, Graham paid tribute to her late brother and credited Trump for getting her across the finish line.

“I continue to miss Lindsey every day, and there is still a big hole in my heart. But I know he’s looking down right now, very proud of everyone in this room,” she told her supporters.

“Mr. president, Lindsey truly loved you and viewed you as one of his closest friends. I appreciate that bond and appreciate all that you’ve done for our country,” Graham continued. “Our victory would not have been possible without you, and we are truly grateful. South Carolina is truly Trump country.”

The runoff took place two weeks after the first round narrowed it to Graham and Norman, so only one pollster got into the field. Trafalgar put it as a dead heat at 48/48, while the Polymarket bettors had lost some confidence after the national-security debate gaffe. Trump’s rally surged the odds back to making Graham the favorite, but it turned out to be closer than people assumed after the first round. 

Graham should easily win in deep-red South Carolina, but Norman sounds like he may not be enthusiastic about supporting her or Trump:

Norman, who has been in the House since 2017, is coming off an unsuccessful run for governor, in which he placed third in the June primary. A member of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus and a staunch conservative, he reflected Tuesday on Trump’s decision to support Graham.

“The president got involved. He has that right. That’s his prerogative,” the congressman told his supporters as a chorus of boos ran through the crowd. “His policies are good. I never understood why he got in this race. … But it is what it is, and I’ll accept it.”

Trump got involved because he and Lindsey had become close friends, and Trump decided to extend that loyalty to Darline. He took care not to badmouth Norman during this special-election campaign, out of respect for Norman’s support. However, it’s worth noting that the House Freedom Caucus has thrown sand in the gears a few times on legislative agenda items in ways that complicated Trump’s strategies, and Trump may not have been enthusiastic himself about the prospect of dealing with that kind of leverage play in the Senate. For Trump, Darline will be a reliable ally. 

On top of that, Graham has proven herself as a quick study. Two months ago, the extent of her public speaking and politicking consisted entirely of an occasional appearance in her brother’s campaign ads. Last night, I watched her victory speech live and was pleasantly surprised at her skill and/or talent for campaigning:

After commenting on X about my positive impression from this speech, a few people challenged me about how this indicates Graham’s ability to legislate. It doesn’t, but (a) you have to win the election before getting a chance to establish that, and (b) Trump seems very confident in her commitment to support his agenda in the next two years. Voters chose Graham, and she seems prepared to fight Democrats for the seat in November. 

Trump rang up an even narrower win in Oklahoma last night, again a fight between two nominally MAGA gubernatorial contestants. Mike Mazzei barely edged out sitting AG Gentner Drummond in a race that had been essentially tied for months. Trump went a lot more negative against Drummond than he did with Norman:

Former Oklahoma State Sen. Mike Mazzei narrowly won the Republican gubernatorial runoff Tuesday, defeating state Attorney General Gentner Drummond in a razor-thin contest after President Donald Trump mounted a late push for his endorsed candidate.

Newsmax and Decision Desk HQ called the race for Mazzei nearly three hours after polls closed. With more than 95% of the vote counted, Mazzei had 50.3% to 49.7% for Drummond. …

“You can forget about this guy — everybody I know dislikes him,” Trump said of Drummond. “Gentner Drummond does not stand for the values of Oklahoma, and he’s a guy that would be, I think, a disaster.”

Drummond, 62, a rancher, former Air Force pilot and the attorney general since 2023, maintained throughout the campaign that he supported Trump despite the president’s opposition.

“I respect the president,” Drummond said during the campaign. “He’s a great leader.”

Oklahoma is normally a reliably red state, but Newsmax columnist John Gizzi warns that history might repeat itself in the Sooner State:

It has been 64 years since Oklahomans elected Marine Corps veteran and farmer Henry Bellmon as their first Republican governor.

Old hands in Sooner State politics say Bellmon’s historic election was due to a bitter and crowded Democratic primary followed by a runoff often described as “incendiary” or “bloody.”

Publisher W.P. “Bill” Atkinson barely won the 1962 runoff over former Gov. Raymond Gary.

But the divisive contest left lasting scars, and Bellmon scored his historic win with 55% of the vote.

This year’s Republican runoff has been so bitter that no matter who wins, some believe it could result in state House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson becoming the state’s first Democratic governor in more than 20 years.

Darline Graham should have little difficulty in uniting the South Carolina GOP against the Democrat nominee for the US Senate. Republicans may need to work harder in Oklahoma to hold the governorship for another term. Both will be the true test of Trump’s endorsement power in the end. 

Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.

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