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By Ken Thomas | Associated Press
WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. – President Donald Trump is preparing for a South Carolina governor in a tense election, betting that his last-minute appearance will help make a difference.
Trump campaigned Monday for Republican governor Henry McMaster in West Columbia, returning the favor after McMaster provided Trump with early approval in his presidential campaign. Monday's rally carries some political risk for the president if McMaster gets tripped in Tuesday's primary.
Trump arrived almost an hour late due to weather conditions. McMaster was among those waiting on the tarmac at the airport to greet the president.
Vice President Mike Pence joined McMaster at a campaign event on Saturday and the president has deployed his huge Twitter on behalf of McMaster over the last few days. Trump noted on Monday that he was traveling "in one of my favorite places, in South Carolina, to fight for one of my" fighters ", Governor Henry McMaster."
Republican voters in South Carolina choose between McMaster and Greenville businessman John Warren in a run for the GOP governor nomination. McMaster received the largest number of votes in a June 12 primary, but he failed to achieve the 50% required to win the nomination, thus giving Warren an opening.
Trump, predicting a "red wave" in mid-term elections in the fall, has held rallies and campaign events on behalf of several Republicans in recent weeks. He held one of his signature rallies last week to extol Congressional candidates in Minnesota and raised money in Las Vegas on Saturday for Nevada Senator Dean Heller, one of the most Republican senators most at risk in the 2018 ballot.
Trump will travel to Fargo, North Dakota on Wednesday for a rally to reinforce Rep. Kevin Cramer, RN, who is trying to overthrow Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp in North Dakota. The trip will also include a fundraising stop for the campaign in Milwaukee on Thursday.
Wade in the Republican primaries proved risky for Trump. He supported Alabama's Senator Luther Strange against Roy Moore in the Republican primary of the state last year but observed that Moore prevailed despite multiple allegations of sexual misconduct against the former judge. Moore was defeated by Democrat Doug Jones in the special election.
But Trump has been emboldened recently with an avalanche of mentions targeting Republican loyalists. He successfully intervened at the eleventh hour in a heated congressional primary in South Carolina, urging voters to reject Republican Representative Mark Sanford, a former governor and critic Trump.
Trump also warned Republican voters in West Virginia to stand out of the hands of businessman Don Blankenship, arguing that he could not beat vulnerable Democratic Senator Joe Manchin . The Republicans have appointed the state Attorney General, Patrick Morrisey, in what should be a showdown in the Senate.
McMaster, a former lieutenant governor, became the first elected representative of the country to approve Trump in January 2016. Trump won a convincing victory in the state's presidential primary and won the state in November.
When Trump then chose South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley as UN ambassador, it allowed McMaster to become governor.
McMaster has lined up with Trump, defending immigration treatment by President and congratulating Trump's recent summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. McMaster has tried to make Trump a litmus test, noting that his opponent has backed Senator Ted Cruz of Texas in the 2016 presidential primary.
"If my opponent had made his way, we would not have had President Trump as president," McMaster said Sunday on Fox News. McMaster himself initially endorsed the ephemeral campaign of South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham.
Warren, who served in the Marines and founded a mortgage business, attempted to claim the role of political outsider in a state where voters were attracted to Trump's populist appeal.
"I think if someone supported Donald Trump and that they really gave an honest assessment of Donald Trump's resume and past, they would join me," Warren told The Associated. Press in a recent interview. "It is clear that I am an outsider."
The winner will face Democratic State Representative James Smith in the fall election. The Republican-backed state has not elected a Democratic governor since Jim Hodges in 1998.
Associated Press writer Meg Kinnard in Columbia, S.C., contributed.
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