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\n

President Donald Trump notched a major win on Tuesday night. Republicans in battlegrounds wonder if it was the best use of his time and money.<\/p>\n

Sen. Darline Graham defeated Rep. Ralph Norman<\/a> in South Carolina\u2019s snap Senate GOP runoff, handing Trump a revitalizing win after several of his endorsed candidates fell in recent primaries<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It was a victory that Graham, a complete political unknown six weeks ago, could not have pulled off without Trump\u2019s steadfast support<\/a>, underscoring just how much his influence still matters among the Republican electorate in the deeply conservative state.<\/p>\n

But South Carolina\u2019s Senate seat will not dictate the balance of power in Washington, and GOP strategists working on critical swing state campaigns are eager for Trump to finally direct his attention to them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe message coming out of this is that obviously the president’s support is still super powerful. The president’s operation still has the ability to move the needle in a lot of these states,\u201d said a Republican strategist working on several battleground races, including in Georgia, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about Trump\u2019s involvement. \u201cHopefully, this is a sign of things to come that the president is willing to get involved and really start to move the needle in some other places that obviously matter a little bit more than South Carolina.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s persistent backing of Graham defined the race: He championed her appointment to her late brother Sen. Lindsey Graham\u2019s seat, he coaxed her into the race with an early endorsement, stood by her as she stumbled on the debate stage<\/a>, and flew down to Myrtle Beach for a rare political rally<\/a> that few of his chosen candidates have enjoyed this cycle. MAGA Inc., Trump\u2019s behemoth super PAC, even spent a slice of highly sought after cash<\/a> from its $400 million stockpile in the closing days of the race.<\/p>\n

And yet, the president hasn\u2019t taken a meaningful step into the states that will matter in a few short months \u2014 even as battleground Republicans have been clamoring for him to spend his MAGA Inc. money.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s now or never. It’s put up or shut up time, and it’s really time to start to see if he’s going to get serious,\u201d the GOP strategist said. \u201cYou’ve got September and October to really move the needle here, and it just doesn’t seem like there’s any sense of urgency, or like we understand that we are down big in some of these states.\u201d<\/p>\n

During her victory speech in Columbia, Graham acknowledged Trump\u2019s heavy hand: \u201cOur victory would not have been possible without you, and we are truly grateful,\u201d Graham said of the president. \u201cSouth Carolina is truly Trump country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Norman\u2019s take on the president\u2019s participation was not as rosy: “The president got involved. He has that right. That’s his prerogative,\u201d Norman said in his concession speech Tuesday, prompting jeers from the crowd at his election night watch party. \u201cY’all,\u201d he continued, \u201chis policies are good. I never understood why he got in this race. It is what it is, and I’ll accept it.”<\/p>\n

Norman\u2019s bewilderment reflected several national and South Carolina Republicans\u2019 confusion<\/a> as to why the president would expend energy for the safe Republican seat when his MAGA allies like Mike Collins in Georgia, scandal-plagued Ken Paxton in Texas and Michael Whatley in North Carolina are facing tough Senate battles against Democratic opponents.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s the principle,\u201d said a North Carolina-based GOP strategist who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about the battleground picture. \u201cIf you’re not Trump and you have these people shoved down your throat, you’re like, \u2018Okay, are you gonna help?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

Some Republicans are worried that though Trump helped power Graham\u2019s win, the president\u2019s overall unpopularity may be more of a curse than a boon in any highly competitive battleground state. A series of Trump-backed candidates lost gubernatorial and congressional primaries in recent weeks, including in Georgia<\/a> and Iowa<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Republicans overall are facing a tough election environment given the ongoing and unpopular<\/a> war in Iran, backlash to the administration\u2019s highly-visible deportation agenda and voters\u2019 persistent cost of living concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have a president and maybe even a vice president that are just so underwater politically in the polls, that they might be a help by not intervening,\u201d said Matthew Bartlett, a GOP strategist and former State Department official in the first Trump administration.<\/p>\n

Still, Trump swept the battlegrounds in 2024, and his ability to boost Graham despite her foreign policy debate gaffe and questions about her political inexperience serves as a reminder of his electoral prowess to campaign officials.<\/p>\n

The question remains when \u2014 or if \u2014 he\u2019ll throw them a presidential life raft.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn’t count on the money if I were in these states,\u201d said the North Carolina-based Republican strategist. \u201cHe still could. I\u2019m just saying, I wouldn\u2019t count on it. We’re not dealing with somebody that’s, you know, super calculated in the way they plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

For months, Republicans across the country<\/a> have watched on as the president has continued to amass a remarkable pile of cash \u2014 and many have implored him to empty his pockets in their races<\/a>. The president told reporters last week<\/a> that he\u2019ll spend \u201ca lot of that money\u201d to boost \u201cRepublican candidates that I think are good,\u201d without being specific.<\/p>\n

However, what some saw as a distraction from the greater Republican cause this year, others read as the first few drops of Trump\u2019s cash flood.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they’re going to spend 800 grand in South Carolina, they’re going to spend in the midterms,\u201d said Matt Mackowiak, a Republican strategist based in Texas who worked on Sen. John Cornyn\u2019s failed reelection campaign and is now backing the GOP ticket. \u201cIt signals they’re going to make a substantial investment in the midterms because you don’t make an 800-grand investment in South Carolina and say, \u2018Yeah, we’re going to let everybody do their own thing.\u2019 This was in some ways a test case.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s targeted support for Graham \u2014 the kind that some Republicans are banking on to shift the dial later this fall \u2014 paid off for her in dividends on election night. Horry County, the site of the president\u2019s marquee rally with the candidate late last week, resoundingly broke for Graham.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s backing also helped open the door to endorsements from key South Carolina Republican figures, including fellow GOP Sen. Tim Scott, who helped Graham shore up support in his Charleston-area home base, Gov. Henry McMaster, and two members of the state\u2019s congressional delegation, Reps. Russell Fry and William Timmons.<\/p>\n

Outside spending also proved crucial to Graham\u2019s success. Her campaign and its allies outspent Norman by more than $5 million in the runoff alone, according to AdImpact<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s allies took a victory lap after Graham\u2019s victory was confirmed Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe power of the Trump endorsement is alive and well in South Carolina,\u201d said Mike Hahn, a GOP strategist involved in the midterms. \u201cA good opening salvo for the team at MAGA Inc. and the president ahead of the midterms.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Donald Trump notched a major win on Tuesday night. Republicans in battlegrounds wonder if it was the best use of his time and money. Sen. Darline Graham defeated Rep. Ralph Norman in South Carolina\u2019s snap Senate GOP runoff, handing Trump a revitalizing win after several of his endorsed candidates fell in recent primaries. It […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26916"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26916\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}