A breath of fresh air for Donald Trump. The American president obtained a respite on Tuesday, August 25, as the mid-term elections approached, with the victory of two of his protégés in the primaries of South Carolina and Oklahoma.
In South Carolina, Darline Graham, outgoing senator who replaced her brother Lindsey after the death in July of this elected official close to Donald Trump, won the Republican nomination for the renewal of her seat against ultraconservative deputy Ralph Norman, according to CNN, CBS and NBC.
In Oklahoma, another favorite of the president, Mike Mazzei, a former local elected official and wealthy financier, narrowly beat Gentner Drummond, current attorney general, in the primary for the post of governor. The two candidates notably opposed a gigantic aluminum refinery project, supported by the United Arab Emirates and which Donald Trump supports, but which faces strong local opposition, according to the Oklahoma Voice newspaper.
These victories bring oxygen to the American president, whose control over the party is shaken by a declining opinion rating and polls which announce a defeat for the Republicans in the elections at the beginning of November.
Donald Trump did not spare his support for Darline Graham, whom he came to support in person during a trip to South Carolina last week. On Tuesday, he again praised “a spectacular person and a true American patriot”.
In her, Donald Trump hopes to be able to count on a faithful ally in the Senate, where certain elected officials from his camp have recently given him a hard time and for which several candidates have already been nominated without his support.
Divisions within the Republican Party
The candidacy of Darline Graham, who has long worked on disability issues in South Carolina, has caused divisions within the Republican Party in the southeastern state, with many expressing outrage that she inherited her brother’s seat despite having no political experience.
This lack of experience was highlighted last week during a televised debate during which the candidate lost her temper when faced with a question on Taiwan. “National security is not my thing,” she tried to justify. She was opposed to the ultraconservative deputy Ralph Norman, also Trumpist but lacking presidential support.
Also readMidterms 2026: “Trump is ready to do anything to take control of the electoral process”
A little clearing for Donald Trump
Darline Graham’s victory offers a small clearing for the Republican president, who recently saw ten of his candidates swept away, including six during the month of August alone, according to a CNN count.
Among the most bitter failures is that recorded at the beginning of August in Michigan by Amir Hassan, against a candidate who had previously ended his campaign, Tom Smith. These ten defeats are as many as in 2018, 2020 and 2024 put together, CNN pointed out. In 2022, 12 candidates supported by the then ex-president lost in the primaries.
Faced with these results, Donald Trump defended his record on Sunday, assuring on Truth Social that support from him was “as powerful as ever”. Those who lost, “it was almost impossible for them to win, but I felt an obligation to support them,” according to the president.
Even if they have not always been dubbed, the winners are nevertheless all Trumpists, illustrating the still imposing weight of the billionaire within the Republicans. Thus, it is still almost impossible for a candidate who opposes Donald Trump to win his primary, as experienced by Congressman Thomas Massie, a fervent supporter of the publication of the Epstein file, who lost the nomination in Kentucky in May.
With AFP
