ELECTION/GOP/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Trump pleaded Monday [6-25-18] night with South Carolina Republicans to vote for Gov. Henry McMaster in a runoff election on Tuesday [6-26-18], warning conservatives that if the governor lost, his failure would be pinned on the president they came to see. Rallying a cozy high school gymnasium full of supporters for one of his earliest, high-profile backers, Mr. Trump said the news media would portray a McMaster defeat as a sign of his own weakness…Mr. McMaster failed to win a majority of the vote in the Republican primary this month and is locked in a competitive race with John Warren, a first-time candidate and former Marine. Mr. Warren, 39, entered the campaign late, but gained momentum with a series of attacks linking Mr. McMaster, 71, to the political status quo in a state capital that has been besieged by a sprawling corruption investigation. Mr. Trump’s decision to inject himself directly into this race just hours before polls open was the sort of risky move that some politicians might not have taken, but, as he explained, he was repaying a debt to Mr. McMaster.”
-Jonathan Martin, “Trump Implores Voters to Back South Carolina Governor on Eve of Runoff,” The New York Times online, June 26, 2018