President Donald Trump issued a dual endorsement of both Lt. Gov. Pam Evette and outgoing four-term Attorney General Alan Wilson in the South Carolina Republican gubernatorial runoff on Friday, June 19, 2026. This significant moment is underscored by the fact that Trump endorses both Wilson and Evette.

Trump’s Endorsement

In his June 19 Truth Social post, Trump framed the dual endorsement as a refusal to choose between the two candidates who made the runoff. Trump wrote, ‘These are the two that I was hoping would get into a Runoff. And they did. I can’t hurt one of them by only Endorsing the other,’ Therefore, I am going to Endorse, for Governor of South Carolina, both Pam Evette and Alan Wilson! It’s a Wealth of Riches — With either you can’t go wrong.’

Trump’s post characterized both candidates generically as ‘MAGA and America First’ and urged voters to ‘Vote for Pam or Alan.’ The post did not cite Wilson’s record as attorney general, did not point to specific accomplishments by either candidate, and offered no substantive case for one over the other.

Historical Precedent

Trump has used dual or hedged endorsements before in contested intra-party primaries. In the 2026 cycle, Trump simultaneously backed Gina Swoboda and Jay Feely in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District primary. In the 2022 cycle, Trump endorsed ‘ERIC’ in the Missouri U.S. Senate primary — a name claimed by both Eric Schmitt and Eric Greitens.

The June 9 primary produced no majority winner. Evette finished first with roughly 29 percent of the vote, and Wilson finished second with roughly 26 percent, advancing both to a Tuesday, June 23 runoff. South Carolina’s GOP gubernatorial nominee will face the eventual Democratic nominee in November in an open-seat race; Gov. Henry McMaster is term-limited.

Original reporting: MyrtleBeachSC News — read the source article.