Two candidates close to the US President win primaries in South Carolina and Oklahoma

Two candidates close to U.S. President Donald Trump won runoff primaries in the Republican presidential primary contests in South Carolina and Oklahoma, according to U.S. media polls, bolstering Trump’s claim that he still wields broad influence within the party’s base. In South Carolina, Senator Darlene Graham defeated her veteran rival Ralph Norman, according to CNN and NBC. Trump played a significant role in the race, campaigning for Graham in the state and urging his supporters to vote as if his name were on the ballot. Mike Mizzi, backed by Trump, also won the Republican runoff for governor of Oklahoma, defeating State Attorney General Gentry Drummond, whom the U.S. president had previously labeled a “fake Republican.” Trump traveled to South Carolina to campaign for Graham 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 am 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 primary elections. In Oklahoma, the organization spent more than $9 million on the runoff since Drummond narrowly edged out Mizzi in the first round of voting in June, 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. Mizzi, a wealthy former member of the state Senate, publicly endorsed the project shortly before receiving Trump’s endorsement.