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By Jordan King
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President Donald Trump touted a perfect 16-0 primary endorsement record for Tuesday's elections, despite backing both candidates in a South Carolina gubernatorial runoff—which guaranteed that one of his picks would lose.
On Truth Social, the president posted a graphic recapping the elections, declaring 10 wins in New York, three in Utah, one in Maryland and two in South Carolina for those he backed. Though Trump remains a dominant influence in Republican primaries, the dual endorsement blurs perceptions of his political strength.
Ahead of the June 9 primary, Trump gave Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette his "Complete and Total Endorsement." But as momentum shifted toward Attorney General Alan Wilson, the president issued another endorsement days before the June 23 runoff, saying that "with either one you can't go wrong."
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Wilson won decisively on Tuesday, capturing 68.6 percent of the vote to Evette's 31.4 percent. He now advances to a general election that he is heavily favored to win, as South Carolina has not elected a Democratic governor since 1998.
When Newsweek contacted the White House for comment, it was directed to Trump's Truth Social post.
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Trump Hedges Bet With Double Endorsement
In his double endorsement earlier this month, Trump said both candidates "have had amazing careers, and have been with me from the beginning," adding that they are "MAGA and America First all the way!"
"These were the two that I was hoping would get into a Runoff, and they did," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "I can't hurt one of them by only Endorsing the other, so, 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 one you can't go wrong. Vote for Pam or Alan—They will not let you down!"
Evette had long been viewed as Trump's preferred candidate in the race. The lieutenant governor campaigned for Trump during the 2024 presidential election and frequently highlighted her ties to the president in her bid to succeed term-limited Governor Henry McMaster.
Trump praised Evette ahead of the June 9 primary, calling her an "America First Patriot" and a key ally in South Carolina. In that crowded contest, Evette topped the group with 28.9 percent of the vote, while Wilson finished second with 26.1 percent.
Wilson argued throughout the campaign that his record as attorney general aligned closely with Trump's agenda. He pointed to legal challenges against the Biden administration and support for Trump's policies during and after the president's first term.
By issuing a dual endorsement, Trump sidestepped the risk of backing a losing candidate while maintaining ties to both factions of the state party.
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Trump-Backed Candidates Score Key Victories on Tuesday
Beyond South Carolina, Trump's endorsed candidates secured victories in a series of primaries on Tuesday.
In New York, Anthony Constantino won the Republican primary for the 21st Congressional District seat held by Representative Elise Stefanik, who announced in December that she would not seek reelection.
In Utah, Representatives Celeste Maloy and Blake Moore similarly prevailed in Republican congressional primaries, while Representative Mike Kennedy advanced unopposed. In Maryland, Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly won the Republican primary for his county office after receiving Trump's endorsement.
Trump's Wider Endorsement Record
Independent trackers use different methods to calculate the success rate of political endorsements. Ballotpedia, which maintains a database of Trump's endorsements, excludes races in which he backed multiple active candidates from its endorsement-success calculations.
The tracker shows that despite a handful of setbacks, Trump's endorsements have generally performed strongly in Republican primaries this cycle, reflecting his continued influence within the GOP as candidates compete for his backing.
Iowa's Republican gubernatorial primary marked the first loss for a Trump-endorsee in this year's election cycle, when Representative Randy Feenstra conceded to business owner and farmer Zach Lahn after the June 2 race.
The 2026 election cycle includes thousands of federal, state and local contests, with voters set to decide all 435 House seats, 33 Senate seats and 36 governorships.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: John Fitzpatrick and Shakeema Edwards.
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