Trump endorses South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette over Nancy Mace in gubernatorial race

President Donald Trump endorsed South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette for governor in a social media post Friday night over South Carolina GOP Rep. Nancy Mace.

The president lauded Evette as an “America First Patriot” who “never wavered” in supporting him, and complimented her choice of a running mate in Gov. Henry McMaster's son Henry McMaster Jr., claiming he was "brilliant" and "competent."

“Pam Evette is a good friend, fighter, and WINNER, and will be a terrific Governor of South Carolina,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Pam has my Complete and Total Endorsement — SHE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”

Mace responded to the snub in a post on X, stating that she still supports the president but understood when she pushed for the release of the Epstein Files that she was risking losing his endorsement.

"I have enormous respect for President Trump and everything he has done for our country and for South Carolina. That respect is genuine and it is unchanged,"she said in a statement. "We have a state that’s corrupt. A system that’s broken. And an establishment who wants to stay in the shadows. It’s been that way for the last decade since Pam Evette’s been in office, and with the governor’s son Henry Jr. as her running mate, South Carolina can expect more of the same.

"I also know I put the likelihood of an endorsement on the line when I demanded transparency on the Epstein files," she continued. "I demanded it because you deserved the truth - ALL OF IT - and as a survivor, I had to get justice for these women. If this is the price of an endorsement, I will never pay it.

"South Carolina deserves a Governor who answers to her people, not to the establishment, and not to anyone who believes accountability is negotiable."

Trump's endorsement also snubs GOP Rep. Ralph Norman, who is currently leading Mace in a recent poll but trails Evette and other Republican candidates including South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson.

South Carolina's Republican primary will take place on June 9. 

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.