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After endorsing his candidate in South Carolina, Trump jumps right into Iowa and Oklahoma Republican primaries

The president also threw his support behind Randy Feenstra in Iowa and Mike Mazzei in Oklahoma, in three states holding their first competitive Republican gubernatorial primaries in years.

Donald Trump during an event in Iowa in a file image

Donald Trump during an event in Iowa in a file imageAFP

Emmanuel Alejandro Rondón
Published by
Emmanuel Alejandro Rondón

President Donald Trump expanded his involvement in Republican gubernatorial primaries, endorsing Randy Feenstra in Iowa and Mike Mazzei in Oklahoma a day after backing South Carolina Lt. Gov.Pamela Evette, a move that effectively ended the campaign of Rep. Nancy Mace, a former Trump ally.

In Iowa, whose primary is Tuesday, Trump described Feenstra as "MAGA through and through" and said Feenstra will "fight tirelessly" for the state on issues including the economy, border security and support for law enforcement. Feenstra is competing against four other Republicans to replace outgoing Gov. Kim Reynolds, who opted not to seek a third term.

In Oklahoma, where the primary is June 16, Trump was equally forceful with Mazzei, a former state senator: "Mike Mazzei has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Governor of Oklahoma — HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!", Trump wrote on social media. Mazzei will compete against state Attorney General Gentner Drummond, former state House leader Charles McCall and former Public Safety Secretary Chip Keating to replace Gov. Kevin Stitt, who is wrapping up his second term.

The blow to Mace in South Carolina

​Evette's endorsement, announced Friday for the June 9 primary, had already generated attention. Mace reacted quickly after losing the president's endorsement and tied it to his calls for transparency over the Epstein case. "I know I put the likelihood of an endorsement on the line when I demanded transparency on the Epstein files. I demanded it because you deserved the truth -ALL OF IT- and as a survivor of a corrupt and broken court system, I will always pursue justice for those who deserve it. If sacrificing my values is the price of an endorsement, I will never pay it," she wrote on X.

Trump, for his part, praised Evette as "an America First patriot who has been with me from the very beginning" and said on Truth Social that Gov. Henry McMaster's son, Henry McMaster Jr., will run for lieutenant governor alongside her. Gov. McMaster, who leaves office in January after two terms, had been one of Trump's earliest endorsements in his first presidential campaign.

The three states where Trump weighed in Friday are holding their first competitive Republican gubernatorial primaries in years, making presidential endorsement the most coveted and determining factor in each contest.

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