Trump allies win primaries in South Carolina and Oklahoma

Two candidates close to President Donald Trump won runoff primaries in the Republican presidential primary in South Carolina and Oklahoma, according to U.S. media tallies, bolstering Trump’s claim that he still wields broad influence within the party’s base. In South Carolina, Senator Darrell Greenham defeated his veteran rival Ralph Norman, according to CNN and NBC. Trump played a major role in the race, campaigning for Greenham in the state and urging his supporters to vote as if his name were on the ballot. Mike Maze, backed by Trump, also won the Republican runoff for governor of Oklahoma, defeating Attorney General Gentry Drummond, whom the U.S. president had previously called a “fake Republican.” Trump traveled to South Carolina to campaign for Greenham and held a phone rally the night before the election. Speaking to supporters at the rally last Friday, Trump said, “What I really want from you is to pretend, please, that I’m the one on the ballot.” The pro-Trump organization MAGA Inc. spent more than $827,000 on voter-contact campaigns via phone calls and text messages, a rare use of its resources during this year’s primaries. In Oklahoma, the organization spent more than $9 million on the runoff since Drummond finished first in the June primary with a narrow lead over Maze, according to U.S. media reports. Trump repeatedly criticized Drummond, particularly for opposing a proposed $4 billion aluminum smelter project backed by the president, arguing that the project could harm the environment and local communities. Maze, a wealthy former member of the state Senate, publicly endorsed the project shortly before receiving Trump’s endorsement.