[Washington Times] COLUMBIA, S.C. ‐ One of President Donald Trump’s earliest and most loyal supporters won a key runoff Tuesday, as South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster fended off a challenge from a self-made millionaire to secure the Republican gubernatorial nomination.The vote tested the heft of Trump’s endorsement in South Carolina, where McMaster, 71, was elevated to the governorship he’d long sought early last year following the departure of Nikki Haley to serve as U.N. ambassador. As lieutenant governor, McMaster was the nation’s first statewide elected official to back Trump, ahead of South Carolina’s early presidential primary.
McMaster - a former state attorney general and U.S. attorney who was elected lieutenant governor in 2014 - has had the last year and a half to develop the mantle of an incumbent. He’s tallied up economic development announcements and championed issues aligned with the president’s priorities, such as clamping down on sanctuary cities and restricting funding for groups affiliated with abortions.
In November’s general election, he’ll seek a full term for the office that eluded him in 2010, when he lost a four-way primary to Haley in his first bid for governor.